Soybeans Slump on Worries About China Orders

Soybean futures fell Tuesday, as traders worried that China might cancel orders from the U.S. Metals futures were mixed.

The actively traded March contract for soybeans lost 36 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $12.805 a bushel.

Rumors that China is canceling orders for U.S. soybeans helped send prices for beans sharply lower, said Brandon Marshall, commodity trader with Northstar Commodity in Minneapolis.

It wasn’t clear if China was actually canceling orders or not, Marshall said, and there wasn’t any word from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“In order for beans to keep going higher, you need to keep selling them in the export market,” Marshall said.

The March corn contract edged up a penny to $4.25 a bushel, and March wheat fell 1.25 cents to $5.6225 a bushel.

In metals trading, gold for February delivery slipped $10.10 to $1,241.80 an ounce. Silver fell sharply. The March contract gave up 43.4 cents to $19.87 an ounce.