U.S. grains: Corn falls on US planting data, tariff confusion

Chicago | Reuters—Chicago corn was down sharply on Thursday as market players digested numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Outlook Forum as well as expectations of new U.S. tariffs on imports from Mexico and China, analysts said.

Wheat followed corn lower and soybeans ticked down, but gained some support from USDA data indicating fewer acres would be planted in 2025, which would reduce supply of the oilseed.

Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn Cv1 settled down 12-1/2 cents at $4.81 a bushel, after falling to its lowest point since February 3.

Most-active wheat Wv1 ended down 17-1/4 cents at $5.62-1/2 per bushel, having earlier dropped to its lowest point since February 4. Soybeans Sv1 fell 4 cents to end at $10.37-1/4 per bushel.

The USDA outlook forum on Thursday projected a shift in acreage from soybeans towards corn, with farmers seeing more of an upside from corn.

That acreage data was somewhat bearish for corn futures, with the potential of larger harvests, and bullish for soybean futures, said Randy Place, analyst at Hightower Report.

Place said confusion swirled in markets over proposed 25 per cent U.S. tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, set to begin on March 4.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday sowed uncertainty when he told reporters that the tariffs, which were earlier delayed by 30 days, could go into effect in April instead of March.

But on Thursday, Trump said in a social media post that the March 4 date would remain in effect for the tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, with an extra 10 per cent tariff also planned for Chinese imports.

Investors worried that if those tariffs went into effect, they could spark retaliation from affected countries against U.S. agricultural exports.

Such fears weighed heavily on corn and soybeans, which have major importers in Mexico and China respectively, Place said.

Wheat was also impacted by tariff concerns, he said, with additional pressure from a rising U.S. dollar.

—Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra