Market News

Soybeans, corn slip on profit taking, harvest pressure

Soybeans were lower on profit taking and technical selling. Beans are watching U.S. harvest activity and anticipating generally good near-term progress. There’s been some rain in parts of the region with more in the forecast later this week, but coverage and totals remain uncertain. The trade is also monitoring planting conditions in Brazil, which mostly look favorable as seasonal rainfall is expected to begin next week. Soybean planting in Argentina will start to get underway later this month. Early expectations are for rising planted area in South America to keep pace with demand, especially from China, which continues to avoid U.S. beans due to tariff tensions. An anticipated call later this week between the U.S. and China is expected to be more focused on tech issues than ag issues. The USDA’s weekly U.S. sales numbers are out Thursday morning. Soybean meal futures were mixed, adjusting spreads, and bean oil was pressured by profit taking. Statistics Canada has 2025 canola production at 20.028 million tons, 4.1% above a year ago thanks to yield expectations, with soybeans at 7.134 million tons, 5.7% lower because of a decline in yield. ANEC estimates Brazil’s September soybean exports at 7.53 million tons, compared to the previous guess of 7.43 million.

Corn was lower on profit taking and technical selling. Corn’s watching yield results, expecting the USDA to lower their projection in October because of the dry finish to the season. There are also disease issues in some areas. The USDA’s next round of U.S. and world production estimates is out October 9^th. Ethanol production, stocks, and exports were all down on the week. The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production averaged 1.055 million barrels a day, down 50,000 on the week, but up 6,000 on the year, with stocks at 22.602 million barrels, a drop of 235,000 from the previous week and 1.183 million from a year ago, and exports averaging 103,000 barrels per day, 18,000 under last week and 48,000 below last year. Corn is also watching early planting activity in South America. Statistics Canada projects 2025 corn production at 15.5 million tons, 1% more than 2024 because of a rise in acreage. ANEC sees Brazil’s September corn exports at 7.12 million tons, compared to the last estimate of 6.96 million tons.

The wheat complex was lower on profit taking and technical selling. The complex is looking at a large global supply and slow export demand for U.S. wheat, even with favorable pricing on some types. Europe, Russia, and Ukraine all saw larger crops and recent rainfall has bolstered production prospects in Argentina and Australia. Statistics Canada says wheat production should be up on the year thanks to better yields. All wheat production in Canada for 2025 was 36.624 million tons, 1.9% more than 2024, including 26.608 million tons of spring wheat, 0.3% higher, 6.535 million tons of durum, a gain of 2.4%, and 3.482 million tons of winter wheat, a surge of 14.4%. Domestically, the USDA will update production September 30^th.