Chicago Board of Trade corn futures declined to a four-week low on Friday after leaders in U.S.-China trade talks did not announce concrete commitments for purchasing American farm goods.
Market participants said disappointment over the lack of detailed purchase pledges from China followed a summit in Beijing between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Some traders had expected China to agree to specific acquisitions of U.S. grains, naming products such as corn, sorghum or wheat as potential purchases, but no such agreements were made public.
President Donald Trump told reporters that American farmers would be pleased with his trade deals and said China would buy "billions of dollars" of soybeans, but he did not provide specifics on any new purchases. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the U.S. expects China to sign up to buy "double-digit billions" worth of American farm goods following the summit, but those comments did not include precise volumes tied to particular commodities.
Traders also cited technical selling as a factor that added pressure to grain prices during the session. That selling activity compounded market reaction to the absence of detailed purchase commitments, contributing to the downward move in corn futures.
The combination of unmet pre-summit expectations about agreed grain purchases and technical selling left corn futures at their lowest level in four weeks by the close on Friday.