CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures continued to chop around the 450 level in the December contract, consolidating for a third consecutive session. Harvest pressure and expectations for comfortable supplies have limited the market’s ability to rally. December corn lost 3 ½ cents to 447 3/6, will March feel 3 ¾ cents to 461. 
• Since its August high of 549¾, December corn has lost 1.02 and has closed lower in seven of the past eight weeks. Futures fell 8¼ cents this week.
• Mid-term elections are on Tuesday, November 3. As the election date moves closer, markets in general could see some position squaring and choppiness as the results could shift some policy changes and uncertainty. This uncertainty impacted equity, livestock, and metals markets on the session with strong selling pressure.   
• Export demand is becoming a growing concern for corn. Current export sales total 925 mb, down 34% from last year’s strong pace, while USDA projects a much smaller 4% year-over-year decline. At this point in the marketing year, export sales typically reach about 38% of USDA’s full-year target; this season, sales stand at just 28% of the 3.0 bb forecast.
• Managed funds continue to liquidate their long position in the corn market. Last week managed funds were still net long 147,000 contracts. With recent selling pressure, that total could be close to 100,000 contracts on Friday’s Commitment of traders report to be released in the afternoon.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans finished mixed, with bull spreading evident as November futures entered the delivery period on first notice day. Crude oil was up strongly which lent some support to soybean oil after it was reported that Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery in yet another escalation of the war. Since August, soybean oil has not been responding to rising crude oil prices.
• November soybeans gained 2-1/2 cents today closing at $12.22-1/4 and will likely trade unpredictively now that it is in delivery. March soybeans gained ¼ cent to $12.43-3/4, December soybean meal lost $4.70 to $324.60, and December soybean oil gained 0.26 cents to 65.90 cents. December crude oil is up $1.83 to $103.86 a barrel.
• U.S. soybean export demand remains strong, with private exporters reporting two additional sales: 165,150 MT and 132,000 MT for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2026/27 marketing year. The sales follow Wednesday’s strong weekly export sales of 94.7 mb, but robust demand has not been enough to offset continued fund selling.
• For the end of the week, November soybeans lost 34-1/4 cents and for the month lost 70-3/4 cents. December soybean meal lost $21.50 for the week and lost $32.30 for the month, and December soybean oil lost 0.93 cents for the week and 2.38 cents for the month.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat closed quietly on both sides of neutral. On one hand, it can’t seem to hold solid footing. On the other hand it could be argued that it performed well today, in the face of a lower corn close and sharply lower outside markets; equities, metals, and livestock were all under heavy pressure this session. In the December contract, Chicago lost 1/4 cent to 603-1/2, Kansas City dropped 1 cent to 644-1/4, and MIAX fell 3/4 cent to 623-3/4.
• USDA reported that 50% of U.S. winter wheat acres were experiencing drought conditions as of October 27, up 1 percentage point from the previous week and 10 points above last year. Spring wheat acreage in drought remained unchanged at 38%.
• It has been reported that two vessels have now traversed the Kerch Strait. However, a third ship was said to have been sunk in the Black Sea, near Bulgaria. Additionally, Ukraine reportedly struck a Russian oil refinery, ending a two-week pause on energy infrastructure attacks. Some may view these war concerns as old news, however, they should still provide underlying support to the marketplace.
• Argentina’s 2026/27 wheat harvest is 6.7% complete, according to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. The exchange maintained its production estimate at 23.4 MMT, which would be 4.4 MMT below last year’s crop.
• FranceAgriMer reports that an estimated 62% of the French soft wheat crop has been planted as of October 26. This represents an increase of 17% for the week. Last year at this time, 67% of the crop was planted, but the five-year average sits at just 59%. Additionally, 4% of the durum crop has been sown, up 2% from the week prior.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nearby Class III contracts were seen falling again heading into the weekend. November futures lost 23 cents to $17.70.
• Spot cheese took a beating today, dropping 6.875 cents to close at $1.66125/lb. Whey improved 2 cents to close at $0.84/lb.
• Class IV milk futures were led higher by strength in butter and powder. November futures added 16 cents to finish at $20.94.
• Spot butter gained 3.75 cents to $1.3575/lb while powder tacked on 2.50 cents to go home at $2.1125/lb.

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Author

John Heinberg