CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures started the week on a positive note, supported by warmer weather forecasts and strength in the soybean market. September corn gained 4-3/4 cents to close at $4.49-1/2, while December futures added 5-1/2 cents to finish at $4.73.
• Corn futures were supported by a shift in weather forecasts for the end of July to early August. Expectations are for an above normal temperature trend over the corn belt with average to below average rainfall. This forecast helped trigger some weather premium into the market to start the week.
• USDA will release weekly crop ratings on Monday afternoon. Expectations are for a small drop in ratings after the possible recent weather impacts. Last week’s corn ratings were at 68% G/E.
• USDA announced a flash export sale of corn on Monday morning. Colombia purchased 100,000 MT (3.9 mb) for the 2026-27 marketing year. This was the first published corn sales since June 23.
• Weekly export sales were within expectations at 1.550 MMT (61 mb) for the week ending July 16. Total corn export sales stand at 2.904 BB, trending 25% ahead of last year’s levels.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day sharply higher as a result of fresh export sales to China and a hotter and drier forecast but retreated from highs earlier in the day. August soybeans gained 21-1/2 cents to $12.26 while November gained 23-1/4 cents to $12.26-1/4. August soybean meal gained $3.30 to $323.50 while August soybean oil lost 0.13 cents to 74.68 cents.
• This morning, private exporters reported sales of 264,000 metric tons of soybeans to China for the 26/27 marketing year and 110,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to unknown destinations for the 26/27 marketing year.
• Today’s export inspections report saw soybean inspections total 10.9 million bushels for the week ending July 16, which was below the low end of analysts’ expectations. Total inspections for 25/26 are now at 1.419 bb, which is down 18% from the previous year.
• Friday’s CFTC report saw funds as buyers of soybeans last week. They bought 4,009 contracts of soybeans increasing their long position to 72,688 contracts. They bought 23,801 contracts of bean oil leaving them long 113,029 contracts and bought 28,827 contracts of meal increasing their long position to 113,029 contracts.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat closed Monday lower across all three classes following a choppy, two-sided trading session. December Chicago wheat ended 9-1/4 cents lower at 6.90-1/2 while December Kansas City wheat ended 8-1/4 cents lower at 7.38-1/2.
• Weekly wheat export inspections totaled just 8 million bushels, below expectations and well short of the 13 million bushels needed to stay on pace with USDA’s export forecast. Year-to-date inspections are 78 million bushels, down 29.5% from last year compared to USDA’s projected 17% decline.
• USDA will release its weekly Crop Progress report Monday afternoon. Winter wheat harvest is expected to be nearly 80% complete, while spring wheat conditions may decline slightly as crop development continues to run ahead of normal.
• Escalating attacks continue to slow Black Sea exports, with SovEcon estimating July Russian wheat exports at just 1.5 million metric tons, down from 2.2 million in June. Export demand is beginning to shift to other EU suppliers, pushing Romanian and Bulgarian wheat prices to one-year highs.
• Global wheat fundamentals remain supportive. Argus lowered its forecast for the French wheat crop, now expecting production to decline 7.6% from last year. China’s June wheat imports totaled 370,000 metric tons, up 5.2% from a year ago. Year-to-date imports are running 57.5% above last year’s pace, partly due to quality issues caused by wet harvest conditions.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• After starting the week off higher this morning, Class III prices began to fade after the spot trade. August futures were down 40 cents to $17.42.
• Spot cheese improved 0.875 cents on the day to close at $1.62875/lb. Whey was unchanged at $0.6950/lb.
• Class IV milk futures were also in the red on the day, pressured by a weaker spot trade for butter and powder. August futures 44 cents lower to $17.13.
• Spot butter declined 1.75 cents to close at $1.5725/lb while powder continues to push lower, losing 2 pennies on the day to go home at $1.45/lb.

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Author

Amanda Brill