Crop Futures Slump on Fears Virus Will Cut China’s Food Demand
A vegetable stall outside a restaurant in Beijing on Jan. 26.
Photographer: Betsy Joles/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Crop futures traded in Chicago sank as China’s death toll from the coronavirus surged amid government reports that the infection was spreading more quickly, threatening demand in the world’s largest consumer of agricultural commodities and the biggest soybean importer.
Soybeans dropped below $9 a bushel for the first time since early December and have lost more than 6% this month. Corn was down over 1% and wheat fell 2% as selling gripped global financial markets in a deepening risk-off mood.