Market News

Soybeans, wheat close mixed as corn gives back some gains

Soybeans were mixed. Contracts were up early, supported by crude oil, but consolidated as crude moved down from the day’s highs. Crude oil did see support throughout much of the session from supply concerns linked to the military action in the Middle East. The trade’s also watching harvest and development weather in South America. CONAB will update its numbers for Brazil Friday. Soybean export inspections were down on the week, up on the year, mainly to China and Egypt. The trade continues to wait for any signs of new, significant demand from China ahead of the expected face-to-face meeting between President Trump and President Xi later this month or early next month. Soybean oil futures were pressured by overbought signals, while bean meal was down with the losses in beans and oil.

Corn was lower on profit taking and technical selling. Corn saw early support from crude oil while monitoring crop weather in Argentina and Brazil. Stateside, the trade is watching weather ahead of planting, while fertilizer price and availability might lead to at least some adjustments for U.S. acreage. The USDA’s Prospective Plantings report is out March 31^st, along with Quarterly Grain Stocks. Export inspections were below last week and last year, but just past the halfway point of 2025/26, remain on pace to top 2024/25. The leading destinations were Mexico and Colombia.

The wheat complex was mixed, with Chicago and Kansas City down on profit taking after early gains and Minneapolis up, potentially trying to buy acreage. Parts of the U.S. hard red winter region are dry, with limited relief in the near-term forecast. Conversely, precipitation forecasts are generally more favorable this week for portions of the soft red winter region. U.S. export inspections were larger than the previous week and a year ago, with China and Mexico in the top slots. Any impact from Tuesday’s USDA supply and demand update could be blunted by geopolitical issues. That includes the military action in the Middle East and Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine. APK-Inform sees smaller production for Ukraine in 2026 due a decline in wheat production canceling out a gain in corn.