CHICAGO, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities closed lower on Monday, with soybean futures falling 0.89 percent, amid escalating trade tensions between China and the United States.
Corn futures notched a three-week high on the U.S. Agriculture Department's bullish acreage forecast late last week, but gave back much of the day's gains as soybeans retreated.
The most active corn contract for May delivery fell 0.5 cent at 3.8725 dollars per bushel. May wheat delivery went down 4.75 cents, or 1.05 percent to close at 4.4625 dollars per bushel. May soybeans dropped 9.25 cents, or 0.89 percent to settle at 10.355 dollars per bushel.
China suspended tariff concessions on 128 items of U.S. products including pork and fruits starting Monday, according to the Ministry of Finance.
The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has decided to impose a tariff of 15 percent on 120 items of products imported from the United States including fruits and related products, and a tariff of 25 percent on eight items of imports including pork and related products from the country, according to a statement posted on the ministry's website.
The statement said it was a countermeasure in response to a previous U.S. move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Despite worldwide objections, the U.S. administration decided to impose a 25-percent tariff on steel imports and a 10-percent tariff on aluminum, with tariffs on imports from countries including China.
