CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures finished lower for the second straight session, pressured by selling momentum across the soybean and wheat markets, as the US dollar remains strong.
• The US dollar continued its breakout move after the election, trading higher in four of the past five sessions and reaching its highest level since June. The strong dollar has triggered some producer selling in Brazil and Argentina and may have weakened the competitiveness of US grains against global competition.
• The USDA released weekly export inspection for corn today. Inspections last week totaled 793,012 mt (31.2 mb), down slightly from the previous week’s total.  Total inspections are now at 324 mb, up 31% over last year.
• The USDA announced a flash sale of corn on the export market this morning. Mexico purchased 110,500 mt (4.35 mb) of corn for the current marketing year.
• The weekly crop progress report will be released later this afternoon, delayed due to the Veterans Day holiday. The market expects the corn harvest to be nearly 95% complete as producers wrap up this year’s work.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans closed lower for the second consecutive day, likely due to technical selling after failing to close above the 100-day moving average twice in a row. Most of today’s pressure came from sharply lower soybean oil, which reversed the recent trend of soybean oil gains while meal slipped. However, with meal prices so low, demand may now be kicking in.
• Today’s export inspections report saw soybean inspections totaling 83.7 mb for the week ending November 7. This put total inspections for 24/25 at 560 mb, which is up 6% from this point last year. The USDA is estimating soybean exports at 1.825 bb for 24/25 which would be up 7% from last year.
• In Brazil, the soybean crop is reportedly 67% planted as of Nov 7, according to AgRural. This compares to 54% a week ago and 61% the previous year. It has been impressive to see how quickly planting has rebounded after the weather delays.
• Since the election results were announced, there has been a sharp rise in the US dollar. Many of the export sales seen by the US ahead of the election are now being diverted to South America as soybeans there have become cheaper as a result of the difference between the US Dollar and Brazilian Real.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat posted double-digit losses across all three futures classes. Pressure again came from a lower close for Matif wheat, another rise in the US Dollar Index, and spillover weakness from lower corn and soybeans. Additional precipitation expected in the US Plains states over the next week or so also added weight to the wheat complex.
• Weekly wheat export inspections of 12.8 mb bring total 24/25 inspections to 372 mb, up 40% from last year. This is ahead of the USDA’s estimated pace; they project total wheat exports at 825 mb, an increase of 17% from the previous year.
• According to Ukraine’s agriculture ministry, winter grain plantings are 96.3% complete, with about 5 million hectares sown out of the expected 5.19 million. Of that total, wheat is reportedly planted on 4.4 million hectares, or 97.2% of the estimated area. Notably, around 95% of Ukraine’s wheat output is winter wheat.
• Wheat prices in Brazil reportedly increased last week, partly due to speculation that the government might make domestic purchases. Current prices are said to be below the government’s minimum thresholds of 78.51 BRL per 60 kg bag in the south and 80.00 BRL in other regions. The federal government has indicated it may purchase up to 200,000 mt of wheat from producers in Rio Grande do Sul.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III futures saw the November, December, and January contracts hold small gains while the remaining 2025 contracts were under pressure.
• Spot cheese closed a quarter cent higher, a small victory after falling the previous six days. Whey was unchanged.
• Class IV markets held a similar trend to Class III in that the nearby were unchanged or higher while the deferred contracts faced selling.
• This was somewhat impressive given a 4.75 cent drop in spot butter, which fell under $2.60/lb. Powder did not move from yesterday’s close.

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Author

Brandon Doherty