All prices as of 2:00 pm Central Time

Corn
DEC ’24	416.5	2
MAR ’25	430	0.75
DEC ’25	440.75	-0.25

Soybeans
JAN ’25	997.25	3.5
MAR ’25	1011.75	3.5
NOV ’25	1035.25	3

Chicago Wheat
DEC ’24	568.75	0.75
MAR ’25	587.5	-0.25
JUL ’25	604.5	-1.25

K.C. Wheat
DEC ’24	571	4.25
MAR ’25	583.75	3.5
JUL ’25	601.75	1.5

Mpls Wheat
DEC ’24	605	5.25
MAR ’25	627.25	4
SEP ’25	654.25	4.25

S&P 500
DEC ’24	5754	-4.25

Crude Oil
JAN ’25	71.05	1.97

Gold
JAN ’25	2757	-4.6

Grain Market Highlights

December corn futures held onto small gains while the deferred months closed unchanged to fractionally mixed on light bull spreading ahead of potential high volatility through the remainder of the week.
Position squaring across all legs of the soybean complex led to a mixed close. Soybeans posted only modest gains after failing to break through Friday’s trading range, pressured by sharply lower soybean oil prices. Meanwhile, soybean meal closed higher, likely benefiting from some short covering and bargain hunting.
The wheat complex ended mixed on the day, with Chicago contracts down in all but December, while Kansas City and Minneapolis futures saw modest gains. Pressure from a lower close in Matif wheat futures contributed to the consolidation, as all three classes await potentially market-moving news this week.
To see the updated US 7-day precipitation forecast, and the 1-week precipitation forecast for Brazil and N. Argentina, courtesy of the National Weather Service, Climate Prediction Center, and NDMC, scroll down to the other Charts/Weather section.

Note – For the best viewing experience, some Grain Market Insider content is best viewed with your phone held horizontally.

Corn

Action Plan: Corn

Calls

Cash

Puts

Corn Action Plan Summary

For much of this fall, corn prices — primarily driven by improved export sales and a swift harvest — have largely traded sideways within a broad 400 – 430 range after rebounding from the August low. With the harvest drawing to a close, the market’s focus will shift toward demand and South American production. While expectations remain for large 2024 supplies, strong export and ethanol demand have brought the USDA’s estimated carryout to a less burdensome level, just below two billion bushels. With the upcoming WASDE report, the market may break out of this range depending on any adjustments the USDA decides to make. An increase in demand could push prices back toward the upper end of the range or higher, while minimal or no changes could allow prices to continue drifting sideways or even lower.

Catch-up sales opportunity for the 2024 crop. If you missed any of our past sales recommendations, there may still be good opportunities to make additional sales for this crop. While this time of year doesn’t often provide the best pricing, a rally back toward the 429 – 460 area versus Dec ’24 could provide a solid opportunity to make any catch-up sales. Also, if storage or capital needs are a concern, you could consider selling additional bushels into market strength. We don’t anticipate making any sales recommendations until late fall at the earliest, or possibly as late as early spring when seasonal opportunities tend to improve.
Catch-up sales opportunity for the 2025 crop. Between early June and late July Grain Market Insider made three separate sales recommendations to get early sales made for next year’s crop. If you happened to miss those opportunities and are looking to make additional early sales for next year, you could consider targeting the 455 – 475 area versus Dec ’25 to take advantage of any post-harvest strength. For now, considering the seasonal weakness of the market around harvest time, we will not be posting any targeted areas for new sales until late fall or early winte. Although we are targeting the 470 – 490 area to buy upside calls to protect current sales in case the market experiences an extended rally beyond that point.
No Action is currently recommended for 2026 corn. We currently aren’t considering any recommendations at this time for the 2026 crop that will be planted 2 years from now, and it may be some time before conditions are conducive to consider making any recommendations. Be patient as we monitor the markets for signs of improvement.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following corn recommendations:

Market Notes: Corn

Corn futures faded off early session highs to finish mixed on the day with December corn holding light gains. This week brings a lot of information and possible instability into the markets. The combination of the US Presidential election, possible Fed interest rate cut and USDA baseline projections on Thursday and USDA report on Friday will likely keep the market extremely volatile.
The USDA released weekly corn export inspections during the session. Last week, US shipped 779,000 mt (30.7 mb) of corn, which was at the lower end of expectations. Total inspections are up 34% year-over-year and running above the necessary pace to reach USDA projections.
The USDA announced two flash sales of corn before the daily session this morning. Mexico bought 150,000 mt (5.9 mb) and Unknown destinations bought 120,000 mt (4.7 mb) of corn for delivery during the current marketing year.
After the market works through the volatility of this week, the historical trend in December corn futures is soft going into the Thanksgiving Day and the “First Notice Day” time windows. This time frame is when basis contracts and stored bushels will likely need to be priced or rolled to deferred months. That action likely will limit the market’s upside potential.
Managed Money positioning has continued to reduce their short position in the corn market. As of October 29, Managed funds held a net short position of 17,703 contracts of corn, reducing the position by 53,796 contracts. This is the smallest net short position by the managed funds for the 2024 calendar year.

Above: Since early September, the corn market has found support near the 400 area while posting a low of 397 on September 12, and a high of 434 ¼ on October 2. A close above this range could put the market on course for a larger move, potentially to the June high near 465, while a close below 397 could put it on track to test support near 385.

Corn Managed Money Funds’ net position as of Tuesday, Oct. 29. Net position in Green versus price in Red. Managers net bought 53,796 contracts between Oct. 23 – 29, bringing their total position to a net short 17,703 contracts.

Soybeans

Action Plan: Soybeans

Calls

Cash

Puts

Soybeans Action Plan Summary

After peaking in early October, the soybean market declined as harvest activity and hedge pressure increased rapidly, driven by warm, dry conditions in the US and improving planting conditions in Brazil. With the harvest now in its final stages, we are entering a period when selling opportunities tend to improve as hedge pressure eases, and South American weather becomes a more dominant factor in their growing season. That said, managed funds hold a relatively small net short position, which creates the potential for volatility in either direction. Prices could rise if South American conditions decline or US demand improves, encouraging further fund buying, or decline if South American conditions improve and US demand remains stagnant, prompting funds to potentially rebuild short positions.

Catch-up sales opportunity for the 2024 crop. If you missed any of our previous sales recommendations, there may still be an opportunity to make a catch-up sale. While we don’t expect the fall to offer the best pricing, a rally back to the 1050 – 1070 range versus Jan ‘25 could provide a good opportunity. For those with capital needs, consider making these catch-up sales into price strength. If the market rallies further, additional sales can be considered in the 1090 – 1125 range versus Jan ‘25. No further sales recommendations are anticipated until seasonal pricing opportunities improve, likely late fall to early spring.
No Action is currently recommended for 2025 Soybeans. To date, Grain Market Insider has not recommended any sales for next year’s soybean crop. First sales targets will probably be set in late fall or early winter at the earliest. Currently, our focus is on watching for opportunities to recommend buying call options. Should Nov ‘25 reach the upper 1100 range, the likelihood of an extended rally would increase, and we would recommend buying upside call options at that time in preparation for that possibility.
No Action is currently recommended for 2026 Soybeans. We currently aren’t considering any recommendations at this time for the 2026 crop that will be planted 2 years from now, and it may be some time before conditions are conducive to consider making any recommendations. Be patient as we monitor the markets for signs of improvement.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following soybean recommendations:

Market Notes: Soybeans

The soybean complex closed the day mixed, with soybeans settling well off their highs, weighed down by profit-taking in soybean oil, which closed sharply lower but well off its lows. Meanwhile, soybean meal likely saw some short covering and small speculative buying from the recent downtrend and massive fund liquidation to close higher on the day.
Export activity remains solid this year. This morning, the USDA reported a flash sale of 132,000 metric tons of soybeans to unknown destinations. Although weekly export inspections for the period ending Oct. 31 came in lower at 2.159 million metric tons, total soybean export inspections are at 12.8 million metric tons, up 4% from last year.
The USDA reported a total of 186.5 million bushels of soybeans crushed in September, marking a 6.7% increase from last year and a record high for the month. Soybean oil stocks came in below expectations and at the lowest month-end level in over 10 years, at just over 1.5 billion pounds.
Brazilian ag consulting firm Patria Agronegocios reported that Brazil’s 24/25 soybean crop is 52.9% planted, compared to 50.6% at the same time last year. In the same vein, AgRural also reported that Brazil’s soybean planting pace has advanced, reaching 54% complete, an 18% advance from the week prior.
The Commitment of Traders report released on Friday by the CFTC showed that managed funds sold 12,652 soybean futures contracts, expanding their net short position to 72,226 contracts. The report also showed that managed funds sold a jaw dropping 43,550 contracts of soybean meal, bringing their net long position down to just about 9,000 contracts. This massive sell off in meal could explain some of today’s price action.

Above: Since mid-October the soybean market has been largely rangebound between 1018 on the topside and 980 down below. A breakout above 1018 could suggest a rally back toward the September highs, with intermediate resistance near the 100-day moving average. Whereas a close below 980 could find additional support near 955 and again around 940.

Soybean Managed Money Funds net position as of Tuesday, Oct. 29. Net position in Green versus price in Red. Money Managers net sold 12,652 contracts between Oct. 23 – 29, bringing their total position to a net short 72,226 contracts.

Wheat

Market Notes: Wheat

Wheat closed mixed, with Chicago wheat down in all but the December contract, while Kansas City and Minneapolis futures posted small gains. The US Dollar Index was modestly lower at the grains’ close, but a 2.00 – 3.25 euro decline in Matif wheat futures likely pressured the US market.
Wheat and the broader grain complex are awaiting several key pieces of potentially market-moving news this week. First is tomorrow’s US presidential election, which may increase market volatility regardless of the outcome. Second is the FOMC meeting, where the Fed is expected to issue a 25 basis point interest rate cut. Finally, on Friday, traders will receive the USDA’s monthly WASDE report.
Weekly wheat export inspections reached 7.1 million bushels, slightly below expectations, but total 24/25 inspections have now reached 358 million bushels, up 35% from last year. Inspections continue to exceed the USDA’s estimated pace for the year, with the USDA projecting 24/25 exports to reach 825 mb, a 17% increase over last year.
According to IKAR, Russia’s wheat export values ended last week at $232 per mt FOB, unchanged from the previous week but still below the suggested November price floor of $245. Additionally, SovEcon reported that Russia exported 1.2 million metric tons of grain last week, with wheat accounting for 94% of that total.
Rainfall over the weekend in US HRW wheat areas fell short of expectations; however, storms are currently moving across parts of Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. Over the next 7–10 days, additional precipitation is expected across the central US, with up to three more systems potentially helping to relieve drought conditions in the western and southern Plains.

Action Plan: Chicago Wheat

Calls

Cash

Puts

Chicago Wheat Action Plan Summary

Since reaching its recent high in early October, the Chicago wheat market has gradually moved lower as conditions in the Southern Hemisphere improved. While some production concerns in Australia appear to have eased, dryness remains an issue in the US Plains and the Black Sea region. Despite more competitive Russian and Black Sea wheat prices, US export demand remains firm, though these lower prices may still limit US prices. However, any US crop concerns or increased demand could support higher prices. Additionally, the managed funds’ net short position is much smaller than it was in late July, giving them the flexibility to either extend their shorts or go long, which could amplify market movements in either direction in the coming weeks.

No new action is recommended for 2024 Chicago wheat. Back in May, we recommended taking advantage of the elevated prices to make additional sales and buy upside July ’25 860 and 1020 calls (for their extended time frame) in case of a protracted rally. Currently, our strategy remains to target 740 – 760 versus Dec ’24 to recommend further sales. While this range may seem far off, based on our research, it represents the potential opportunity that this crop year can present as we move into the planting and winter dormancy windows of the next crop cycle. Considering this potential, we also continue to target a selling price of about 73 cents in the 860 calls to achieve a net neutral cost on the remaining 1020 calls. The remaining 1020 calls would then continue to protect existing sales and give you confidence to make additional sales at higher prices.
No new action is recommended for 2025 Chicago wheat. In September, we recommended taking advantage of the rally in wheat to make additional sales on your anticipated 2025 SRW production. While we continue to recommend holding July ’25 620 puts — after advising to exit the first half back in July — to maintain downside coverage for any unsold bushels, our Plan A strategy continues to target a 10-15% extension from our last sale to the 650–680 area in July ’25 to suggest making additional sales. Should the market show signs of a potentially extended rally, our Plan B strategy is to protect current sales and target the 745 – 775 area to buy upside calls in case the market rallies significantly beyond that point.
No action is currently recommended for 2026 Chicago Wheat. We currently aren’t considering any recommendations at this time for the 2026 crop that will be planted next year, and it may be some time before conditions are conducive to consider making any recommendations. Be patient as we monitor the markets for signs of improvement.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following Chicago wheat recommendations:

Above: The swift turnaround on October 29 suggests initial support below the market may rest near 558. A close below this level could put the market at risk of trading down toward the 521 – 514 support area, with intermediate support possibly around 544. Initial resistance lies near 580 with more significant resistance around 595 – 600.

Chicago Wheat Managed Money Funds’ net position as of Tuesday, Oct. 29. Net position in Green versus price in Red. Money Managers net sold 2,257 contracts between Oct. 23 – 29, bringing their total position to a net short 31,172 contracts.

Action Plan: KC Wheat

Calls

Cash

Puts

KC Wheat Action Plan Summary

Since peaking in early October, the wheat market has gradually declined, influenced by improved crop conditions in the Southern Hemisphere. Production concerns in Australia have eased somewhat, but dryness remains an issue in the US Plains and the Black Sea region. Although Russian and Black Sea wheat prices are more competitive, US export demand remains steady, though lower global prices could still limit US prices. However, potential issues with the US crop or a rise in demand could push prices higher. Additionally, managed funds’ net positions could now be considered mostly neutral, allowing flexibility to either extend short positions or go long, which could amplify market movements in either direction in the weeks ahead.

No new action is recommended for 2024 KC wheat. Considering the upside breakout in KC wheat back in May, we recommended buying upside July ’25 860 and 1020 calls (for their extended time frame) in case of a protracted rally. Our current strategy is to target 635 – 660 versus Dec ’24 to recommend further sales, while also targeting a selling price of about 71 cents on the 860 calls to achieve a net neutral cost on the remaining 1020 calls. The remaining 1020 calls would then continue to protect existing sales and give you confidence to make additional sales at higher prices.
No new action is currently recommended for 2025 KC Wheat. While we still recommend holding the remaining half of the previously suggested July ’25 620 puts for downside protection on unsold bushels, considering the early October rally, we advised selling another portion of your anticipated 2025 HRW wheat production. Looking ahead, our current Plan A strategy is to target the 640 – 665 range for additional sales, while our Plan B strategies involve targeting the upper 400 range to exit half of the remaining 620 puts if the market turns toward new lows and targeting the 745–770 area to buy upside calls in case the market rallies significantly beyond that point.
No action is currently recommended for 2026 KC Wheat. We currently aren’t considering any recommendations at this time for the 2026 crop that will be planted next year, and it may be some time before conditions are conducive to consider making any recommendations. Be patient as we monitor the markets for signs of improvement.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following KC recommendations:

Above: The market has largely been sideways since rallying off 561 support on Oct. 29. A close above 583 could set the market up to rally toward the 593 – 603 resistance area around the 200-day moving average. Otherwise, a break below 561 could find minor support near 555, with major support around the August low of 527.

KC Wheat Managed Money Funds’ net position as of Tuesday, Oct. 29. Net position in Green versus price in Red. Money Managers net sold 3513 contracts between Oct. 23 – 29, bringing their total position to a net short 9,160 contracts.

Action Plan: Mpls Wheat

Calls

Cash

Puts

Mpls Wheat Action Plan Summary

After peaking near the 200-day moving average in early October, Minneapolis wheat has been retreating toward its August low. At the same time, managed funds have started rebuilding some of their net short positions. While more competitive Russian export prices continue to limit upward potential, concerns about global wheat supplies persist, potentially increasing opportunities for US exports and driving prices back higher.

No new action is recommended for 2024 Minneapolis wheat. Now that we are at the time of year when seasonal price trends tend to become more friendly, we are targeting the 630 – 655 range to recommend making additional sales. Additionally, given the amount of time that remains to market this crop, we will maintain the current July ’25 KC wheat 860 and 1020 call options. Our target is a selling price of about 71 cents for the 860 calls to achieve a net neutral cost on the remaining 1020 calls. These 1020 calls will continue to protect existing sales and provide confidence to make additional sales at higher prices.
No new action is currently recommended for the 2025 Minneapolis wheat crop. Since the growing season can often yield some of the best sales opportunities, we made two separate sales recommendations in July to get some early sales on the books for next year’s crop. While we will not target any specific areas for additional sales until November or December, we continue to hold the remaining July ’25 KC 620 puts that were recommended in June for downside protection. To that end, we are currently targeting the upper 400 range versus July ’25 KC to exit half of those remaining puts. Additionally, should the wheat market show signs of an extended rally, we are targeting the 745–770 area in July ’25 KC to buy July ’25 KC upside calls in case the market rallies significantly beyond that point.
No Action is currently recommended for the 2026 Minneapolis wheat crop. We currently aren’t considering any recommendations at this time for the 2026 crop that will be planted 2 years from now, and it may be some time before conditions are conducive to consider making any recommendations. Be patient as we monitor the markets for signs of improvement.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following Minneapolis wheat recommendations:

Above: So far, the 615 – 624 resistance area has held. A close above this area could set the market up for a rally towards the October highs with intermediate resistance near 637. To the downside, a close below 595 could set the market up to break further and test the August low of 563.

Minneapolis Wheat Managed Money Funds’ net position as of Tuesday, Oct. 29. Net position in Green versus price in Red. Money Managers net sold 5,764 contracts between Oct. 23 – 29, bringing their total position to a net short 15,981 contracts.

Other Charts / Weather

US 7-day precipitation forecast courtesy of NOAA, Weather Prediction Center.

Brazil and N. Argentina 1-week forecast total precipitation courtesy of the National Weather Service, Climate Prediction Center.

Brazil, N. Argentina 1-week forecast precipitation, percent of normal, courtesy of the National Weather Service, Climate Prediction Center.

Grain Market Highlights

Corn

Action Plan: Corn

Calls

2024

2025

2026

Cash

2024

2025

2026

Puts

2024

2025

2026

Corn Action Plan Summary

Market Notes: Corn

Soybeans

Action Plan: Soybeans

Calls

2024

2025

2026

Cash

2024

2025

2026

Puts

2024

2025

2026

Soybeans Action Plan Summary

Market Notes: Soybeans

Wheat

Market Notes: Wheat

Action Plan: Chicago Wheat

Calls

2024

2025

2026

Cash

2024

2025

2026

Puts

2024

2025

2026

Chicago Wheat Action Plan Summary

Action Plan: KC Wheat

Calls

2024

2025

2026

Cash

2024

2025

2026

Puts

2024

2025

2026

KC Wheat Action Plan Summary

Action Plan: Mpls Wheat

Calls

2024

2025

2026

Cash

2024

2025

2026

Puts

2024

2025

2026

Mpls Wheat Action Plan Summary

Other Charts / Weather