(Bloomberg) -- The agriculture markets are getting a lift as U.S. trade relations improve with Mexico, one of the largest foreign buyers of American meat and grain.
Donald Trump has signed a bilateral agreement with Mexico to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, while a deal has not yet been reached with Canada, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Mexico imports more pork from American farmers than any other country and is a major destination for corn.
October hog futures jumped as much as 3 cents a pound, the maximum allowed by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and cattle also rose by the limit. December corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade pared earlier losses to trade almost unchanged after the trade deal was reported.
Trump plans to make a trade announcement at 11 a.m. in Washington, according to a statement from the White House.
In June, Mexico imposed tariffs on U.S. products including cheese and pork in retaliation for American taxes on steel and aluminum. That contributed to tumbling hog prices, with the October contract trading at a record low earlier this month.
“Mexico, agriculturally, is very important to us,” said Lawrence Kane, a market adviser with Stewart-Peterson Group in Yates City, Illinois.
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