CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures posted strong gains today amid broad buying across the grain markets. Optimism surrounding this week’s U.S.-China meeting and weather concerns helped fuel buying interest across the grain complex. December corn gained 15 ½ cents to 543, while March added 15 ¼ cents to 556 ¾.
• Heavy rainfall across the western corn belt over the last week will likely limit some early harvest pace.  USDA will release harvest progress on Monday’s Crop Progress report. Strength in corn and soybean spreads reflect this concern and a good front-end demand tone.
• The USDA released the weekly export inspections report on Monday morning. For the week ending September 21, corn inspected for export was 76.3 mb, up 15 mb over last week. Though earlier in the market year, export inspections are slightly ahead of the pace to reach the USDA target for 2026-27.
• The corn market is watching headlines going into the meeting between President Trump and President Xi of China on Thursday. The corn market is looking for some confirmation on possible corn purchases and/or elimination of current tariffs on US grains going into China.
• South American corn planting has begun. The current planting pace was 17.6% complete, ahead of expectations and 3.2% above the 5-year average. The weather forecast will become more of a market focus going into the Oct/Nov window.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day sharply higher in anticipation of the meeting between President Trump and China’s President Xi this week that may result in more US soybean sales to the country. Both soybean meal and oil surged higher despite losses in crude oil. Strong export demand, domestic demand, and tight supplies have driven this market higher.
• November soybeans gained 24-1/2 cents today to $13.28 and were within 7 cents of their contract highs while March gained 22-1/4 cents to $13.51-3/4. October soybean meal gained $12.00 to $366.60 while October soybean oil gained 0.62 cents to 68.32 cents. First notice date for October soy products is September 30.
• Today’s export inspections report was decent for soybeans with inspections totaling 27.9 million bushels for the week ending September 17. Total inspections are now at 62 mb, which is up 2% from the previous year at this time, but are running slightly behind the pace the USDA has set for expectations.
• In Malaysia, biodiesel consumption is expected to rise to 1.4 mmt this year which would be up from 1 million tons last year. They are the second largest producer of palm oil, and this may be a demand indicator for biofuel globally.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Despite another rise in the US Dollar Index, the grain complex was up today and wheat was no exception. The strength may have been largely fueled by anticipation of this week’s Trump / Xi summit, with hopes that China will step in and buy US corn and wheat. In the December contract, Chicago gained 12-1/2 cents to 726-3/4, Kansas City rallied 10-3/4 cents to 794-1/2, and MIAX last traded 4-1/4 cents higher at 745-1/2.
• Weekly wheat export inspections amounted to 12.3 mb, which brings total 26/27 inspections to 222 mb, down 31% from last year. Inspections are currently running below the USDA’s estimated pace; total 26/27 exports are forecasted at 775 mb, down 15% from the year prior.
• According to IKAR, Russia has been able to export 2 mmt of wheat so far this month, after having transferred shipments from the Black Sea to the Baltic Sea.
• The Ukrainian agriculture ministry has stated that their nation’s grain exports are down 22% year over year, at 4.67 mmt, since their season began on July 1. Of that total, wheat shipments account for 2.33 mmt, which amounts to a 44% year on year decline.
• Pakistan is reported to have purchased 365,000 mt of wheat in their tender, which was originally for 750,000 mt. The price paid was said to be $349/mt. However, they also issued a new tender for 185,000 mt of wheat, with offers due September 28.
• According to Friday’s Commitments of Traders report, managed funds were net sellers of almost 15,000 contracts of wheat across all three classes. This reduced their net long position in the wheat complex to around 63,000 contracts.ge in Odesa that has helped facilitate shipments through an alternative route.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III milk futures were mostly weaker among 2026 and 2027 contracts due to a quiet spot trade. October futures did increase a penny to $15.70.
• Spot cheese was up 0.75 cents to $1.40875/lb while whey was unchanged from Friday at $0.78/lb.
• Class IV futures edged higher to start the week thanks to powder continuing to climb. October futures were up 11 cents to $19.76.
• Spot butter fell a 1 cent to $1.36/lb while the powder market continues to move higher, improving 1.25 cents to $2.0925/lb.
• Fresh news this week includes a Milk Production report on Tuesday followed by a Cold Storage report on Friday.

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Author

Brandon Doherty