CORN

• Corn futures are trading lower at midday, facing mild pressure following China’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs. The tariffs, while notable, have a relatively minor impact on U.S. corn prices. This is largely due to China’s imports of U.S. corn have been modest, as the country has been increasing its domestic corn production.
• The tariff announcement this past Wednesday continues to affect the market, although the direct impact on corn remains limited for the time being. This is due to Mexico, a key trade partner, being exempt from the tariffs under the USMCA agreement.
• The Buenos Aries Grain Exchange pegged Argentine’s crop conditions at 33% good/excellent, up 6% on the week although they did mention concerns of upcoming frosts in the center-west and southern areas over the next week. The corn harvest in Argentina is currently 20% completed.
• The US corn area under drought stands at 39% but that number is shrinking as precipitation continues across the eastern and southern Midwest.

SOYBEANS

• Soybeans continue to trend lower at midday across the entire soy complex, pressured by China’s announcement of tariff retaliation. This has caused May beans to drop to their lowest level since Christmas Eve, amid significant outside market pressure.
• China announced at 5 am today that they will now charge a 34% tariff on all US goods starting April 10th to match President Trump’s reciprocal tariff.
• China was the top buyer of US soybeans again last week, but the new 35% level will certainly end any China demand for US beans.
• The US soybean area that is under drought stands at 33% but expected soil moisture replenishment is expected to continue across the eastern and southeastern bean belt.
• The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange reported that wet weather has delayed the start of Argentina’s harvest, though dry conditions are expected in the near future.

WHEAT

• Wheat prices are moving lower at midday across the entire wheat complex, as beneficial precipitation moved through the Texas Panhandle and Oklahoma overnight, with more expected over the next couple of days. This is providing relief to the drier areas.
• US winter wheat under drought stands at 37% but is expected to see improvement this week with the beneficial rains.
• Ukraine’s wheat exports for the marketing year so far stand at 13.2 million tons, down 7% year over year.
• French SRW conditions rose 2% last week to 76% good to excellent.

Author

Lauren VandenLangenberg