Reports that the US rule intended to impose sanctions forward cut-price imports of Chinese textiles were enough to emit US wheat and soya prices into a tail-spin this week.

Reports that the US rule intended to impose sanctions forward cut-price imports of Chinese textiles were enough to emit US wheat and soya prices into a tail-spin this week, as China immediately cancelled a planned grain buying delegation.

Having lately built such high hopes--and prices--on sustained Chinese demand, the last thing US grain and oilseed exporters wanted to hear was the threat of a major trade dispute between the brace countries.

That maize prices bring to the ground less steeply was partly down to the fact that this market had lately risen far less than beans and wheat.

Traders