Chicago — Deere & Co offered an optimistic forecast for the US farm economy on Friday amid an escalating tariff war with China and other big trade partners as its quarterly profit missed estimates on higher raw material and freight costs. Shares of the world’s largest manufacturer of tractors and harvesting equipment erased early losses to turn higher, trading up 2.6% at $140.98. The trade showdown has depressed US farm commodity prices as China and other trading partners target agricultural exports through retaliatory tariffs, clouding the outlook for equipment demand. Deere said the trade disputes had not hit demand for replacing ageing equipment as farmers are still investing in technologies to increase operation efficiency. It expects US farm cash receipts in 2019 to be higher than in 2018 as rising demand for crops such as maize, wheat and cotton offset soft demand for soya beans. "The situation right now is dynamic for the farmers and this can change," CFO Rajesh Kalathur said...
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