CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures saw the end of the week profit taking and pressure from the November option expiration to close the week with light to moderate losses. December corn lost 4 ¾ cents to close at 423 ¼, while March corn fell 4 ¼ cents to 437. For the week, December corn traded ¾ cents higher.
• Planting pace for the 2025-26 Argentina corn crop is off to a good start. Corn planting is projected to be 30% complete vs. 26% last week, 24% last year. The 5-year average is 26% for this time period.
• The December corn spread sold were trading lower on the session. The spread has been helping the corn market work higher, but failing to push through resistance and possible increase in farmer selling likely triggered the pressure in the December contract.
• Weather outlooks remain favorable into November, supporting steady harvest progress as producers move into the final stages of corn and soybean harvest.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybean futures saw profit taking to end the week as the market is focused on trade negotiations between the US and China as US harvest is in the final stages. November soybeans lost 3 cents to 1041 ¾, while January soybeans sipped 1 ¾ cents to 1060 ¼. For the week, November soybeans gained 22 ¼ cents.
• The November soybean options expired on Friday, and option expirations tend to bring additional volatility as prices move toward the areas of largest open interest for puts and calls, and that strike was the 1040 level for November soybeans.
• Recent gains in U.S. soybean prices have narrowed the gap with Brazilian export offers, potentially erasing the competitive advantage U.S. beans had in global trade. This comes as traders await progress on trade discussions between the U.S. and China.
• Markets will closely watch the U.S.–China trade talks taking place in Malaysia this weekend, with Presidents Trump and Xi scheduled to meet on Tuesday.
• Brazil ag agency, CONAB, is forecasting another record harvest for Brazil production for the 2025-26 soybean crop. Soybean planting is in the early stages, but CONAB is expecting the planted area to grow 3.5% over last year to an equivalent of 121 million acres.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat futures ended mixed on Friday but held up better than corn and soybeans. Strength in the broader stock market may have provided some spillover support, as CPI data showed consumer prices rising slightly less than expected. The Dow was up more than 550 points at midday. December Chicago wheat slipped ½ cent to 512 ½, Kansas City gained 1 ½ cents to 501 ½, and Minneapolis lost 1 cent to 557.
• According to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, Argentina’s wheat crop has been 5.3% harvested so far. Early yield results are also said to be terrific. Nevertheless, the BAGE kept their estimate of the country’s crop unchanged at 22 mmt – this would still be 18% above last year. This compares with estimates from the Rosario Grain Exchange at 23 mmt and the USDA at 19.5 mmt.
• Managed funds were estimated to have purchased 4,000 contracts of Chicago wheat yesterday, which would reduce their net short position to an estimated 93,000 contracts. Furthermore, open interest declined by about 2,000 contracts which would suggest short covering played a role in yesterday’s trade.
• The Turkish wheat crop harvest for 2025 is expected to fall 13.9% year over year to 17.9 mmt. This estimate comes from TurkStat and is part of a broader trend of declining crop production for the nation.
• FranceAgriMer has reported that the French soft wheat crop has been 57% planted as of Monday. This is a big jump of 30% over the week before. The current pace is also well above the 20% planted at this time a year ago and the five-year average pace of 43%.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III milk futures were able to climb today with November through February contracts trading more than 40 cents higher.
• Spot cheese found some buyers today with prices improving 3.3750 cents to close at $1.77375/lb. Whey was unchanged from Thursday at $0.69/lb.
• Class IV futures were led higher by a strong butter trade. December futures added 37 cents to close out the week at $14.45.
• Spot butter jumped 4 cents to go home at $1.6025/lb. Powder tacked on 3.50 cents today to close out the week 5 cents higher to $1.16/lb.

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Author

John Heinberg