(Bloomberg) -- China is back in the U.S. market to buy soybeans, registering its first purchases of American-grown oilseed since its latest commitment was announced last month.
Chinese groups bought about 2 million metric tons, according to people familiar with the transactions. That’s the first sale since U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Feb. 22 that China had pledged to buy an additional 10 million tons. China is making good-faith gestures as the world’s two largest economies negotiate an end to their trade war.
The purchases are for shipment from the Pacific Northwest and U.S. Gulf for the summer months, people familiar said, asking not to be identified because transactions are private. In late February, China also bought its first cargo of U.S. sorghum since August, Department of Agriculture data showed Thursday.
“If confirmed, it shows the Chinese are demonstrating goodwill by buying commodities,” said Tarso Veloso, an analyst at AgResource in Chicago.
Soybean futures for May delivery rose as much as 0.6 percent on Thursday to $9.07 1/2 a bushel. A rally “will only be sustained when an agreement is signed, and it will depend on the amount of soybeans they eventually agree to buy,” Veloso said.
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