CHICAGO, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) futures settled significantly lower on Tuesday with soybeans falling to two-year low amid escalating trade tensions.
The most active soybean contract for July delivery fell 19.5 cents, or 2.15 percent, to settle at 8.89 dollars per bushel. July corn went down 2.25 cents, or 0.63 percent, to close at 3.5375 dollars per bushel. July wheat was down 12.25 cents, or 2.50 percent, to settle at 4.7775 dollars per bushel.
After unveiling plans to impose additional tariffs on Chinese goods worth around 50 billion U.S. dollars, the White House went further by threatening to identify 200 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese products for additional tariffs.
CBOT brokers reported that funds sold 12,000 contracts of soybeans, 7,000 contracts of wheat and 17,000 contracts of corn on Tuesday.
During the morning session, CBOT soybeans once lost more than 5 percent, but saw some recovery later. Still, the price at close reached the lowest level since March, 2016.
China is a major buyer of U.S. soybeans. A spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday that if the United States loses its rationality and unveils another list of Chinese products for additional tariffs, China will have no choice but to take comprehensive measures combining quantitative and qualitative ones to resolutely strike back.
AgResource, an agricultural advisory and research firm based in Chicago, estimates that in the past two weeks, U.S. farmers have lost more than 100 dollars per acre in revenue as a result of the fall in crop prices. Enditem
