CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn faced additional selling pressure Wednesday as the market lacks fresh bullish news. A stronger U.S. Dollar and limited new information ahead of the Trump-Xi meeting weighed on prices. December corn lost 7 ¾ cents to 529, while March corn fell 7 ½ cents to 543 ¾.
• The market remains focused on Thursday’s Trump-Xi meeting for confirmation of potential Chinese corn purchases or reduced tariffs on U.S. grains. Optimism earlier in the week has faded as traders await details.
• USDA announced a flash export sale of corn on Wednesday morning.  Mexico purchased 100,000 MT (3.9 mb) of corn for the 2026-27 marketing year.
• Weekly ethanol production last week totaled 302 million gallons, down 21 million gallons from last week. A total of 101 mb of corn was used last week in ethanol production.
• Rising U.S. Treasury yields continue to support the Dollar Index, which reached its highest level since late July and remains a headwind for corn and other commodities.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day lower with the sharply higher U.S. dollar pressuring all commodities along with some jitters ahead of tomorrow’s meeting between President Trump and China’s President Xi. Soybeans have been rangebound throughout the past three weeks with prices looking for direction as harvest presses on without a clear picture of final yields.
• November soybeans lost 7-1/2 cents today following a slight loss in yesterday’s trade. March soybeans lost 6-1/4 cents to $13.42-1/2, October soybean meal gained $1.40 to $370.30 while deferred months were lower, and October soybean oil lost 0.12 cents to 67.25 cents despite crude oil being up $2.07 a barrel.
• Potentially friendly news ahead of tomorrow’s Trump/Xi meeting is that China has reportedly made more room in its soybean reserve right before the summit. It will put up 514,000 tons of soybeans for auction from its state reserves likely in hopes that Trump cuts tariffs allowing China to buy more soybeans less expensively.
• Argentina is expecting record corn and soybean production in 2026/27, with soybean production forecast at 53.6 MMT versus 50.1 MMT last season. As the world’s largest soybean meal exporter, increased Argentine supplies could add pressure to meal prices.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• As the US Dollar Index pushed into a new near-term high today, it acted as a wet blanket over the grain complex. This may have also triggered some speculative selling, as MATIF wheat futures also closed sharply lower. In the December contract, Chicago lost 8-3/4 cents to 7.08-1/2, Kansas City fell 9-1/2 cents to 771-3/4, and MIAX dropped 7-1/2 cents to 728-3/4.
• Tomorrow will feature the much-anticipated meeting between Chinese President Xi and President Trump. There is hope that reciprocal tariffs may be reduced or eliminated. If so, this may lead to China purchasing US ag goods beyond soybeans, including wheat and corn.
• According to the Ukrainian agriculture ministry, their wheat harvest is complete, at 25.3 mmt – this is an 11% increase year over year. Additionally, they reported that wheat plantings for 26/27 are 14.6% complete.
• Russian winter wheat plantings are said to be going at the slowest pace since 2013, according to SovEcon. Reportedly, 6.1 million hectares have been planted so far. This represents a 14% decline from the 7.1 million hectares planted at this time a year ago.
• The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange is estimating Argentine 26/27 wheat production at 23.4 mmt. If realized, this would be a drop of 4.4 mmt from the 25/26 crop.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III ended the session mixed, with the nearby contracts posting losses while farther-out contracts finished the day higher.
• Spot cheese fell 0.3750 cents to close at $1.4050/lb. Spot whey gained 1 cent to close at $0.7975/lb.
• Class IV posted double-digit gains across several contracts, with November up 41 cents to close above $20.00 at $20.05.
• Spot butter gained 2.50 cents to close at $1.3650/lb. Spot powder also gained 2.50 cents, closing at $2.1500/lb.

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Author

Amanda Brill