By Joe Hoppe

A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week of April 14-17 by Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona.

GRAINS & OILSEEDS: The macro mood is mixed amid trade uncertainty following backpedaling on tariffs by the Trump's administration, and a weaker U.S. dollar.

Tariff headlines will continue to dominate price action in the agricultural market this holiday-shortened week, with U.S.-China trade tensions in the spotlight, Peak Trading said. The threat of an all-out trade war eased somewhat after the U.S. offered a temporary reprieve on select Chinese-made tech products in a filing late Friday, though tensions remain high--a headwind for risk assets like agricultural commodities.

On the other hand, backpedaling on tariffs, along with cooler-than-expected Consumer Price Index data, have pushed the U.S. dollar to 20-month lows, Peak Trading added. This represents a tailwind for agriculturals, as a weaker greenback makes it cheaper for international investors to buy dollar-denominated commodities.

South American weather looks supportive overall with Brazil benefiting from widespread rains over mid-April and Argentina's harvest weather looking warm and mostly dry. The U.S. weather outlook also improved, with some previously dry parts of the western Corn Belt getting rains last week--reducing drought concerns--and the eastern Corn Belt receiving warm and dry weather over the next two weeks after a bought of heavy rains, Peak Trading said.

Chicago wheat futures were down 1.6% at $5.47 a bushel on Monday, while corn fell 0.7% on $4.87 a bushel. Soybean prices were flat on $10.42 a bushel.

SOFT COMMODITIES:

Agricultural softs are generally higher on-week, though trading has been volatile given tariff concerns.

Cocoa prices and coffee prices in particular have been on a rollercoaster ride, with both crops falling to multi-month lows last week before partially recovering ground. This reflects concerns that demand could weaken as a result of import tariffs, Commerzbank analysts said in a note.

Initial tariffs included a 21% levy for powerhouse cocoa producer Ivory Coast, as well as 46% and 32% duties on major robusta coffee suppliers Vietnam and Indonesia. The suspension of the tariffs for three months saw a relative price recovery, but both cocoa and coffee are still trading well below early April price levels, Commerzbank added.

On Monday, cocoa was up 0.7% at $8,213 a metric ton, while coffee rose 1.7% at $3.60 a pound. Sugar fell 0.8% to $0.18 pound.

Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 14, 2025 12:27 ET (16:27 GMT)

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