By Joe Hoppe
A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week April 21-25 by Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona.
GRAINS & OILSEEDS: The macro mood is mixed as the U.S. dollar weakens but appetite for risk assets falls, too, on concerns over the independence of the Federal Reserve.
The greenback is down 1.7% on week after a sharp selloff on Monday following U.S. President Trump's threats to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. This makes it cheaper for international purchasers to buy dollar-denominated goods like agricultural commodities, though the wider market has adopted a risk-off tone.
Markets had responded favorably toward Trump's exemptions to trade tariffs in the prior week, but persistent threats of sector-specific tariffs and Chinese export controls suggest trade war headlines will continue to play an outsize role for agricultural markets, Peak Trading analysts said in a note.
U.S. Corn Belt forecasts show wetter conditions heading into late April with much-needed rains reaching the central and eastern Plains states. That said, there are still dry spots in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, Peak Trading said. The weather in South America looks favorable overall, particularly in Argentina for harvests and with Brazil's second corn crop benefiting from widespread rains.
Chicago wheat futures are flat on $5.52 a bushel on Tuesday, while corn is down 0.8% to $4.86 a bushel. Soybean prices are up 0.8% at $10.50 a bushel.
SOFT COMMODITIES: Agricultural soft commodities have had a mixed performance over the past week. Cocoa rallied amid market volatility and arabica coffee gained slightly, but robusta coffee and orange juice prices fell.
Most major soft commodities have fallen on month after Trump's tariff announcements in early April sparked market turmoil. Many of the tariffs were later paused, though prices have failed to entirely recoup losses.
Over the last week, a softer dollar and drier-than-normal weather in Brazil have provided support to arabica coffee prices, Rabobank analysts said in a note.
Cocoa prices have bucked the trend, rising on month. BMI analysts raised expectations for cocoa futures for 2025 to average $8,500 a metric ton from $7,600 on remaining harvest concerns despite expectations for West Africa production to improve on year. BMI expects demand to slide over the coming months due to elevated prices and the threat of tariffs.
On Tuesday, cocoa is down 0.4% at $9,080 a metric ton, while coffee rises 2.1% to $3.72 a pound. Sugar is up 1.3% at $0.18 a pound.
Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2025 12:32 ET (16:32 GMT)
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