The CME and Total Farm Marketing offices will be closed Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• The corn market struggled to gain traction on Thursday, despite strong export sales earlier in the week and announced flash sales, as ongoing supply concerns continued to cap any potential rallies. March corn futures closed 1 ¾ cents lower to 420 ¼, while the May contract slipped 2 cents to 427 ¾.
• The corn market posted a technically weak close, as the March contract failed to push through yesterday’s high of 425, and finished at the bottom end of the range. The weak close could trigger additional selling pressure at the start of the overnight session.
• USDA announced weekly corn export sales on Thursday morning. For the week ending January 8, US exporters reported new sales of 1.140 MMT (44.9 mb). This was up from last week, and within expectations. Mexico was the largest buyer of U.S. corn for the week. Total current export sales are running 29% ahead of last year’s pace.
• USDA announced two flash sales of U.S. export corn on Thursday morning. Japan purchased 260,000 MT (10.2 mb) and Unknown Destinations purchased 500,302 Mt (19.7 MB) for the 2025-26 marketing year.
• The Rosario Grain Exchange published their first estimate of Argentina’s 2025/26 corn campaign. The Exchange is projecting a record production of 62 MMT, a record large volume of corn. USDA is forecasting the Argentina crop at 53 MMT.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day higher for the second consecutive day with primary support from strong export sales and the fact that the Trump administration will soon release biofuel blending quotas which supported bean oil. March soybeans gained 10-1/2 cents to $10.53, while November gained 6-1/4 cents to $10.64-1/4. March soybean meal lost $2.60 to $293.90 and March soybean oil gained 1.97 cents to 53.47 cents.
• USDA released the weekly export sales report on Thursday morning. For the week ending January 8, U.S. exporters sold 2.062 MMT of soybeans for the current marketing year. This was above the high end of market expectations. Despite the strong week, total export sales for the current marketing year are trending 29% below last year with the USDA predicting a 13% drop in exports.
• The Brazil Agriculture agency, CONAB, released its January crop production estimates on Thursday morning. CONAB lowered the estimate for the Brazil soybean crop to 176.12 MMT, down 1 MMT from last month of reduce yield forecasts. USDA recently raised its forecast to 178 MMT.
• USDA announced three flash sales of U.S. soybeans on the export market on Thursday morning. China purchased 206,000 MT (7.5 mb), and unknown destination locked in two sales of 110,000 MT (4 mb) and 360,000 MT (13.2 mb) for a 2025-26 marketing year. A small sale of 75,000 MT (2.7 mb) was recorded for unknown destinations for the 2026-27 MT.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat posted losses across all three U.S. classes today, even as MATIF futures closed higher. Some of the weakness likely stemmed from a rebound in the U.S. Dollar Index, which reached its highest level in roughly 1.5 months. March Chicago lost 2 cents to 510-1/2, Kansas City declined 5 cents to 517-1/4, and MIAX fell 4-1/2 cents to 562-1/2.
• The USDA reported an increase of 5.7 mb of wheat exports sales for 25/26 and 0 mb for 26/27, this for the week ended January 8. Shipments at 11.1 mmt fell below the 16.5 mb pace needed per week to reach their export goal of 900 mb for 25/26. However, total commitments at 745 mt are up 16% from last year, which is ahead of the USDA’s estimated pace.
• In an update from the Rosario Grain Exchange, they kept their estimate of Argentine wheat production unchanged at 27.7 mmt. However, this far exceeds the USDA’s forecast of 24 mmt. Meanwhile, CONAB lowered their estimate of Brazilian wheat production by 0.1 mmt to 7.9 mmt (vs the USDA at 8 mmt).
• According to the USDA, winter wheat acres affected by drought declined 1% from the previous week, falling to 41%. Meanwhile, 10% of spring wheat acres remain in drought, unchanged from last week.
• FranceAgriMer has kept its estimate for French 2025/26 soft wheat exports unchanged at 15.1 mmt. However, this would represent a 45% increase year over year.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• While most contracts closed with small losses, February Class III futures closed up 13 cents at $15.00 and 20 cents off the daily low.
• Spot cheese was up 0.1250 cents, settling at $1.32375/lb, while whey was unchanged at $0.72/lb.
• Class IV was lower again with the second month contract dropping a dime to $13.86.
• Spot butter was up 0.75 cents for the second day in the row with a $1.3150/lb settlement. Powder gained a half cent.

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Author

John Heinberg