Market News

Soybeans, corn see spillover support from crude oil strength

Soybeans were higher on fund and technical buying. There are reports of quality issues in parts of Brazil due to heavy rainfall during harvest and rain chances for Argentina are mixed. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange says 30% of Argentina’s beans are in good to excellent shape, up 1% on the week, with 38% of the crop in the pod filling stage. The trade continues to wait for signs of new demand from China. Beijing is still buying some U.S. beans but is also purchasing substantial amounts from Brazil and recent U.S. tariff activity is also clouding things at little. The USDA says China was the big buyer of U.S. beans last week, followed by the Netherlands, but it was a routine amount and sales were below average at 14.1 million bushels. There was a significant cancelation by unknown destinations. Brazil’s ANEC says February soybean shipments were below expectations due to shipping logistics issues, with March exports seen at 16.1 million tons. Soybean oil was up, taking the cue from crude oil, which was supported by supply concerns due to the ongoing military action in and around Iran and the Middle East. Soybean meal futures were lower, pressured by product spread trade. Statistics Canada projects 2026 planted area for canola in Canada at 21.839 million acres, up 1% from 2025, largely due to strong domestic demand, with soybean planted area at 5.89 million acres, 1.9% higher.

Corn was higher on fund and technical buying. Corn is watching weather in South America, with spillover from the strength in crude oil. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange says 7.2% of Argentina’s corn crop is harvested, leaving their production guess at 57 million tons. Stateside, the trade’s watching weather and input cost/availability ahead of widespread planting. Export sales were larger than average at 79.6 million bushels, led by South Korea, Colombia, and Mexico. There were also 6.1 million bushels of U.S. corn sold for 2026/27 delivery to Japan. The USDA is projecting record corn exports during the 2025/26 marketing year, with the next guess out March 10^th, while CONAB will update numbers for Brazil on the 13^th. Brazil’s ANEC projects March corn exports at 697,000 tons. SovEcon sees a 6% decline in corn production for Ukraine in 2026, down to 29.9 million tons. Statistics Canada estimates 2026 corn for grain planted area in Canada at 3.846 million acres, up 1.7% on the year.

The wheat complex was higher on fund and technical buying. There’s rain in the forecast for many U.S. winter wheat growing areas, following a mixed month for the USDA’s crop condition rating changes. That precipitation could miss some of the drier areas. The U.S. Drought Monitor says 56% of U.S. winter wheat growing areas are in some stage of drought, up 6% on the week. Wheat is also conditions ahead of emergence in Europe and the Black Sea region, while monitoring shipping issues caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine and the military action against Iran. Statistics Canada says all wheat acreage in Canada is expected to be 1.1% below a year ago at 26.738 million acres. That includes spring wheat planted area of 18.781 million acres, down 0.1%, and winter wheat planted area of 1.579 million acres, a decline of 6.7%. U.S. wheat export sales were lower than average at 7.5 million bushels, with Mexico and Indonesia topping the list. Sales of 2 million bushels for 2026/27 delivery were to Thailand. SovEcon left its guess for Ukraine’s wheat crop at 24.6 million tons.