CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn ended the week higher, following strength in both wheat and soybeans as money flowed back into the grain complex. May corn gained 5 cents to 448 ½, while July added 4 ¾ cents to 456.
• Strength in the crude oil market — driven by rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran — has introduced a war premium and increased volatility in energy markets. That strength has spilled over into grains, triggering short-covering rallies in corn and wheat and additional buying in soybeans.
• Managed money or hedge funds have been exiting their net short position in the corn market over the few weeks. On last Friday’s Commitment of Trader’s report, managed funds were net short 27,000 contracts as of February 17, but with the recent price strength have likely moved that to a neutral or slightly long position.
• USDA announced a flash sale of export corn on Friday morning.  Unknown Destinations purchased 257,000 MT of corn for the 2025-26 marketing year. This marks the second consecutive day of announced corn export sales.
• February served as the discovery period for the December corn crop insurance base price. With the month now complete, the average December corn price was $4.62, down 2% from last year’s $4.70 base price.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day higher heading into the weekend and took out yesterday’s high in May, which is the highest level May soybeans have traded at since the November high of $11.77-3/4. Prices were likely supported by the strong move higher in wheat as money flows into commodities amidst concerns over escalation tensions with Iran.
• March soybeans gained 9-1/2 cents to $11.57-1/4 and are now in delivery. May soybeans gained 7-1/4 cents to $11.70-3/4 and November gained 3/4 cent to $11.28-1/4. Soy products did not keep up with soybeans as May soybean meal lost $0.40 to $320.50, and May soybean oil gained just 0.09 cents to 61.85 cents but made a new contract high.
• Export demand showed weakness in the latest report. Sales for the week ending February 19 totaled 15.0 million bushels, falling below expectations and declining 49% from the previous week. Top buyers included Egypt, Germany, and China. However, shipments were stronger at 29.8 million bushels, exceeding the 22.5 million bushels per week needed to meet the USDA’s current export projection.
• For the week, May soybeans gained 17-1/2 cents while November gained 13-1/4 cents. May soybean meal gained $6.70 and May soybean oil gained 2.55 cents. Prices have been supported by optimism over soybean oil demand and outside markets, but the lack of export sales could cause prices to retreat.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat had a banner day with double digit gains in all three classes. With little fresh bullish news, much of the rally appears tied to fund short covering amid rising geopolitical tensions with Iran. However, the upside may be limited as improved rain chances are forecast across much of the U.S. Plains next week, and wheat futures are once again nearing technically overbought territory. In the March contract, Chicago was up 19-1/2 cents at 591-1/4, Kansas City gained 21-1/4 cents to 572-3/4, and MIAX climbed 15-3/4 cents to 599-1/4.
• According to the USDA, as of February 24, an estimated 50% of US winter wheat acres are experiencing drought conditions. This is a 4% jump over the previous week. During the same time period, the area of spring wheat in drought was unchanged at 16%.
• The wheat market largely shrugged off talk that 40,000 mt of Argentine wheat was being imported to the southeastern US. This goes to show how uncompetitive US wheat currently is on the export front.
• According to FranceAgriMer, as of February 23, the French soft wheat crop was rated 84% in good or very good condition, down from 88% the previous week. Several growing regions have seen recent flooding, leading to the drop in condition. Nevertheless, the crop is still rated better than the 73% rating from a year ago.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• While March Class III gave back 14 cents, the rest of the 2026 contracts were up between 6 and 19 cents on Friday.
• Spot cheese was down slightly today to $1.54125/lb, but closed the week 4.75 cents higher. Spot whey was down the same amount on the week to $0.6325/lb.
• March Class IV was down 2 cents while the remaining contracts were unchanged or higher. It was another great week for Class IV milk.
• Spot butter gave back 2 cents today and 3 cents on the week with a $1.84/lb settlement. Spot powder was unchanged today and up 2.50 cents on the week.

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Author

John Heinberg