Sinograin plans second September soybean auction ahead of Trump-Xi summit

China's state stockpiler Sinograin ​on Tuesday announced ‌its second ​large-scale auction of imported soybeans in September, just days ahead of a summit ‌in Washington between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The auction, set for 1:30 p.m. CST (0530 GMT) next Monday, will include ‌514,000 metric tons of soybeans produced between 2022 and 2024, ‌the National Grain Trade Centre said in a notice. Sinograin also sold 62.4% of the 543,000 tons of imported soybeans offered at an auction ⁠on ​Tuesday, consultancy Mysteel said, ⁠marking its first large-scale sale since late August.

Between July and August, ⁠Sinograin conducted five auctions, each offering more than 200,000 tons of imported ​soybeans. Traders said the sales were intended to free up ⁠storage capacity for expected arrivals of US soybeans. China has now passed the ⁠halfway ​mark toward fulfilling its commitment to buy 25 million tons of US soybeans, a deal the White House said ⁠was reached last October.

Traders hope the leaders' summit this week will ⁠provide greater ⁠clarity on China's future demand for US soybeans.