Negotiators from the U.S. and China began two days of talks today and while resolution to the trade war is far from a done deal there’s at least some optimism progress is being made. That gave another boost to soybean futures overnight though U.S. stock indexes failed to hang on to early gains. Traders face a data vacuum from USDA as the government shutdown continues, but the agency will release export inspections from last week at 10 a.m. CST. That report will show whether China began shipping out some of the soybeans it bought in December.

Bryce Knorr first joined Farm Futures Magazine in 1987. In addition to analyzing and writing about the commodity markets, he is a former futures introducing broker and is a registered Commodity Trading Advisor. He conducts Farm Futures exclusive surveys on acreage, production and management issues and is one of the analysts regularly contracted by business wire services before major USDA crop reports. Besides the Morning Call on www.FarmFutures.com he writes weekly reviews for corn, soybeans, and wheat that include selling price targets, charts and seasonal trends. His other weekly reviews on basis, energy, fertilizer and financial markets and feature price forecasts for key crop inputs. A journalist with 38 years of experience, he received the Master Writers Award from the American Agricultural Editors Association.

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