CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures saw selling pressure on Tuesday, led by weakness in the soybean, wheat and energies markets. September corn futures lost 7 cents to 442 ¼, while December futures lost 7 cents to 465 ½.
• The USDA lowered its U.S. Corn crop rating to 61% G/E, down 2% from last week. The impacts of hot, dry weather in the western belt offset gains seen across the central corn belt after recent rains.
• Crude oil futures were lower on the session as talk of a deal between the U.S. and Iran pressured the market. Crude oil futures are trading $8-9.00 lower on the week after two days of trading.
• Weather models are forecasting an above-normal rainfall pattern for most of the Corn Belt over the next couple of weeks. For areas that have received rainfall recently, this forecast should support grain fill. 
• The USDA will release the August WASDE report on August 12. The next few days, the corn market will likely see some private corn yield forecasts for the 2026-27 marketing year. Early indications are forecasts will be looking to raise the corn crop above trendline yield given overall May, June, and July weather.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day lower but came about 6 cents off lows posted earlier in the day. Lower crude oil and good weather pressured the complex. September soybeans lost 15 cents to $11.58-3/4 while November soybeans lost 14-1/2 cents to $11.77-3/4. September soybean meal lost $2.70 to $312.70 and September soybean oil lost 0.59 cents to 68.20 cents. Crude oil is down $4.52 a barrel to $75.82.
• This morning, private exporters reported a sale of 132,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China in the 26/27 marketing year. This follows sales yesterday of 488,000 mt of soybeans to China and then another 136,150 mt to unknown destinations. China is getting on track to meet its commitment to purchase 25 mmt of US soybeans.
• Yesterday’s Crop Progress report saw soybean ratings unchanged at 63% good to excellent, which compares to 69% last year at this time. 88% of the crop is blooming, which compared to the 5-year average of 84% and 62% are setting pods which compared to the average of 55%.
• Yesterday’s export inspections report was a bit sluggish at 344k tons, which compared to 366k tons last week and 628k tons a year ago. Top destinations were to Indonesia, Mexico, and Germany. China has been primarily focused on new crop U.S. purchases.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat futures can’t seem to pick a direction and closed lower across all three classes today. It seems they were pressured largely by a drop in Paris wheat values, along with a further sharp decline in crude oil futures. In the September contract, Chicago dropped 12-1/2 cents to 638-1/2, Kansas City fell 10-1/4 cents to 707, and MIAX declined 10-1/2 cents to 684-1/2.  
• Yesterday afternoon’s USDA Crop Progress report indicated that winter wheat harvest as of August 2 is 86% complete. This is in line with the five-year average and 1% above last year’s pace. As for spring wheat, the crop was rated 55% good to excellent, up 2% from the week prior. Additionally, 98% of that crop is headed, and harvest is now 5% complete versus 4% last year and 8% on average.
• According to the Russian defense ministry, their forces attacked 8 vessels overnight. Drone strikes reportedly hit a total of 5 ships in the Black Sea, with 3 more hit in the Mykolaiv port. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones are said to have struck 3 Russian warehouses overnight as well.
• Russian wheat export values are said to be falling due to pressure from increased freight and insurance costs. According to IKAR, Russia’s FOB export offers for September were down $9 to $226/mt at the end of last week (compared to the week prior). Meanwhile, SovEcon had their export prices ranging from $228-$230/mt, down $7 from the week before.
• Algeria has issued an international tender for 50,000 mt of soft milling wheat. However, they often buy much more than what the tender is originally sized at. The offer deadline is believed to be tomorrow, August 5.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nearby Class III futures were all lower today, ranging from losses of 10 to 19 cents beyond the front month.
• Spot cheese was unchanged today while whey was down a quarter cent to make for a quiet spot trade.
• Class IV milk was mostly unchanged outside of a 3 cents gain in the August contract and a 15 cent gain for September.
• While butter was unchanged, spot powder jumped 4.50 cents to post a $1.57/lb settlement.
• The Global Dairy Trade Auction did not hold too many surprises today. The index was slightly higher along with cheese, whereas butter was lower.

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Author

Amanda Brill