CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures continued to push through technical support levels as the selling pressure across the grain markets stayed active. July corn lost 9 cents to 446 ¾ and December lost 7 ¼ cents to 475. For the week, July corn lost 16½¢, and futures finished the month down roughly 28¢, forming bearish reversals on monthly charts.
• Old crop corn continues to face pressure from expanding global competition in export markets. Traders are weighing ample U.S. supplies alongside an estimated 108 MMT Brazilian crop and a record 64 MMT Argentine crop, increasing available world export supplies.
• Ongoing discussions surrounding a possible ceasefire extension between the U.S. and Iran continued to pressure crude oil markets. Falling energy prices have encouraged additional long liquidation in corn as inflation-driven commodity buying unwinds.
• For the week ending May 21, USDA reported new export sales of 1.015 MMT (64.3 mb) of corn for the 2025-26 marketing year. This total was down 52% from last week’s total. Mexico remained the largest buyer of U.S. corn.
• Dry conditions across much of the central Corn Belt should allow producers to finish the final stages of planting. However, longer-range forecasts are beginning to introduce better moisture chances across the heart of the Corn Belt during the June 6–12 window.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day lower as funds appear to lighten their large net long position as planting progresses quickly and with relatively good weather conditions. July soybeans lost 7-3/4 cents to $11.86-3/4 while November soybeans lost 4 cents to $11.90. July soybean meal lost $4.30 to $329.80 and July soybean oil gained 1.02 cents to 77.72 cents.
• Soybean oil continued to show impressive strength even as crude oil dropped more than $1/barrel. The divergence highlights ongoing optimism surrounding biofuel demand and expectations for supportive Renewable Volume Obligations (RVOs), which continue to underpin soybean oil values.
• Today’s export sales report saw soybean sales within analysts’ ranges with an increase of 11.0 million bushels for 25/26 and an increase of 5.1 mb for 26/27. This was down 15% from the previous week but up 41% from the prior 4-week average. Top buyers were Mexico, unknown destinations, and Egypt. Last week’s export shipments of 21.0 mb were above the 16.1 mb needed each week to meet the USDA’s estimates.
• The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange released its weekly crop progress report which showed estimated production at 50.1 mmt, which would compare to 50.3 mmt last year. The crop is now 84.6% harvested, which is up from 74.7% last week.
• For the week, July soybeans lost 9-3/4 cents while November gained 2-1/4 cents. July soybean meal lost $2.10 while July soybean oil gained 3.74 cents. As soybean crush demand rises and the US crushes more beans due to strong demand for soybean oil, a glut of soybean meal is created and pressures meal futures.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat futures closed with double-digit losses Thursday as a broad “risk-off” tone weighed on commodity markets. Continued weakness in crude oil, improving rain chances across parts of the Corn Belt, month-end position squaring, and likely fund selling all added pressure. Chicago dropped 13-1/2 cents to 610-1/2, Kansas City fell 15-1/2 cents to 649-3/4, and MIAX was down 13-1/2 cents at 663-3/4.
• The USDA reported net cancellations of 29.7 mb of wheat export sales for 25/26, but an increase of 38.9 mb for 26/27. Shipments last week totaled 11.0 mb, which falls under the 29.4 mb pace needed per week to reach their 910 mb export goal. However, export commitments stand at 891 mb, up 14% from last year.
• According to the USDA, as of May 26, an estimated 69% of winter wheat area is in drought, down 1% from the week prior. For the same time period, spring wheat acreage in drought increased 2% to 23%.
• The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange is estimating the Argentine 26/27 wheat crop area at 6.5 million hectares. If realized, this would be a 0.2 million decline from the year prior. Additionally, they indicated that planting is 14.2% complete; this quick pace is said to be due to favorable soil moisture. Furthermore, the exchange is forecasting production at 21.3 mmt, down 23.4% from last season.
• According to data from FranceAgriMer, the French soft wheat crop is rated as 78% good or very good as of May 25. This is a 3% decline from the week before, but still above the 70% rating at this time last year. A recent heatwave is being cited as the reason for this week’s decline in condition.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class IV futures continued to trend higher going into the weekend with the July contract adding 20 cents to close at $20.50.
• Spot butter improved 3.25 cents to $1.6675/lb while powder gained half a cent to close at $2.09/lb.
• Class III futures were slightly lower on the day pulled down by a weaker cheese trade. June futures lost 12 cents to go home at $16.23.
• Spot cheese fell 0.675 cents to close out the week at $1.4575/lb. Whey jumped a penny to close right at the $0.70/lb level.

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Author

Brandon Doherty