US soybean futures rose on Monday, supported by another purchase of US supplies from top buyer China. Last week's trade negotiations were constructive and made thorough preparation for talks in early October, China's senior agricultural representative in the talks said, according to a report by state-backed media group Yicai on Sunday. The United States is one of the biggest producers of the natural fiber, while China is the largest consumer.
The drawn-out trade war between Beijing and Washington has led to a 17% fall in cotton prices so far this year. "I'd be buying on the hopes of a China deal but probably the better place (is) to wait until something gets done and then sell in the market because that's probably what it's waiting for," Marcus added. Meanwhile, cotton speculators trimmed their net short position by 9,363 contracts to 32,951 in week to Sept. 17, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday.
Investors await the release of the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) weekly crop condition report later on Monday. Total futures market volume fell by 830 to 16,394 lots. Data showed total open interest gained 369 to 232,356 contracts in the previous session.