Chicago soybeans bounce as wheat and corn keep sliding

what happened

Soybean futures in Chicago rose on Tuesday, recovering from a session that pushed them to their lowest level in almost 11 weeks. Wheat and corn, by contrast, stayed close to four-month lows set last week, as traders priced in the chance of a larger Russian wheat export flow that outweighs solid US grain demand, Reuters reported.

Reuters noted that American farmers had harvested 88% of the soybean crop as of Sunday, slightly ahead of the five-year average, and that the crop is forecast to be the largest in the nation's history. The US Department of Agriculture also confirmed private sales of 1,729,740 metric tons of corn for Mexico and 136,000 tons of soybeans for China.

Fertilizer prices are climbing in the US, as weaker exports from Trinidad and Tobago tighten a global market that is already short of supply. Farmers and food producers also face costly diesel during the autumn harvest. Egypt's cabinet said its strategic reserves of various commodities cover about six months on average. Argentina's farm exports jumped 157% year on year in October to $2.88 billion, the CIARA-CEC chamber said on Monday, while AgRural reported that Brazilian farmers had planted 53% of their projected 2026/27 soybean area as of last Thursday, up from 40% a week earlier.

why it matters

The grain picture is mixed for traders. Harvest pressure and prospects of bigger Russian wheat supply weigh on wheat and corn, while soybean trading hinges on the record US crop and the pace of Brazilian planting. Higher fertilizer and fuel costs also feed into farm margins for the coming season.

market impact

Grain futures: expected Russian wheat exports pressure CBOT wheat and corn prices

• ▼CBOT wheat pressure down — expectations of bigger Russian wheat exports reduce demand for US supplies
• ▼CBOT corn pressure down — weaker wheat and seasonal harvest pressure drag corn toward four-month lows

tags

instruments