Market News

Corn closes mostly firm after Friday’s drop

Soybeans were lower on fund and technical selling. The trade was expecting a solid week-to-week advance in harvest, with weekly crop progress and condition numbers delayed until Tuesday by Monday’s federal holiday. Weekly export inspections will also be out Tuesday. That anticipated advance follows last week’s slight increase in the USDA’s 2026 production and yield estimates and comes ahead of a temporary return to wetter conditions in some key growing areas. Planting in Brazil is reportedly faster than average, while activity has yet to really get underway in Argentina. Soybean meal futures were mixed, adjusting spreads, and bean oil was higher, following crude oil.

Corn was steady to modestly higher. Corn bought back part of the drop that followed last week’s larger than expected production guess. That definitely caught a lot of people by surprise, from traders and analysts to farmers, after concerns about development due to high heat in some areas during key development phases and recent harvest delays, which have included reports of quality issues in portions of the Corn Belt. More harvest delays are likely with rain in the forecast for parts of the region. Traders are also watching planting activity in Argentina and Brazil. CONAB will update its outlook for Brazil’s crops Thursday, while the USDA’s next round of supply, demand, and production numbers is out November 10^th. APK-Inform pegged Ukraine’s 2026 corn crop at 31.8 million tons, down 1.5% from the prior guess.

The wheat complex was mixed. Wheat is monitoring the Black Sea export situation, along with U.S. winter wheat planting activity. There are some near-term delays in the forecast, but generally, that soil moisture recharge will be welcome. For exports, the war between Russia and Ukraine will likely continue to severely limit exports, impacting not only wheat, but also corn and oilseeds. There seems to be no end in sight to the fighting and general trade sentiment seems to be the war will continue into at least 2027. U.S. wheat remains relatively high priced when compared to other exporters, limiting demand. Wheat is also monitoring planting in Russia and Ukraine, along with late development weather in Argentina and Australia. APK-Inform sees Ukraine’s 2026 wheat harvest at 25.5 million tons, up 500,000 from the previous projection.