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8-18 Midday: Grains Sideways to Higher to Start the Week

ByGrain Market Insider

We are excited to offer you a new way to follow the markets! While CME Group policy changes mean our daily updates will no longer show pricing data, you can now explore our interactive quote board, featuring up-to-date charts to help you track market trends.

Grain Market Insider Interactive Quote Board

  • Corn futures are trading near unchanged to start the week, following a strong close last Friday, as markets await fresh catalysts amid robust U.S. export demand.
  • Forecasted cooler temperatures and weekend rainfall across much of the northern Corn Belt should support grain fill for the maturing 2025 corn crop.
  • The southern corn harvest is accelerating, with Louisiana’s harvest projected to exceed 65% completion this week and Arkansas nearing 20%. Strong yields, up significantly from last year, are straining storage, prompting some elevators to cut basis bids, pressuring local cash values.

  • Soybean futures are trading near unchanged this morning, holding gains from last week’s rally sparked by the USDA’s 2.4-million-acre cut to soybean harvest estimates in the August WASDE report.
  • New-crop soybean sales for 2025/26 are at their slowest pace in five years, down 20% from last year, with zero Chinese purchases despite this being their typical buying window, keeping export markets subdued.
  • The Pro Farmer Crop Tour began today, with soybean pod counts expected to be robust due to ample moisture across most of the tour’s Midwest route, potentially signaling strong yields.
  • Wheat futures are slightly lower to start the week hovering just above contact lows for all three wheat classes.
  • Weekend rainfall across the Upper Midwest is likely to further slow the already delayed 2025 spring wheat harvest, lagging behind the average pace. Persistent moisture may also degrade grain quality in some areas.
  • Following Friday’s U.S.-Russia summit in Alaska, President Trump hosts Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House this week to negotiate an end to the three-year Russia-Ukraine war. A potential ceasefire could stabilize Black Sea grain exports, impacting wheat and corn prices.

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