BASIC & RECENT MARKET INFO

Tidbits A Chinese commerce  minister is scheduled to visit the U.S. and talk to trade deputies. While this is not part of the ongoing negotiations, it is seen as a goodwill gesture. The human case of screwworm  reported this week by U.S. health officials is the country's only one so far this year and poses no risk to the farm sector, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said on Tuesday. Crude oil was lower yesterday, despite the Ukraine conflict and its impact on Russian

Tidbits Cattle and feeder cattle  were lower yesterday after a report this weekend of the first human screwworm case in the U.S. which was found in Maryland. The person had just returned from El Salvador. The Fed: Yesterday President Trump fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook because she claimed two homes were her main residence on her mortgage applications. Wheat: Seven of the last ten years, soft red winter December wheat futures made its low in the last half of August

Tidbits Russia-Ukraine: On Sunday, Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of Russia’s largest nuclear reactors, forcing a sharp decline in the capacity of the reactor and sparking a huge blaze at the major Ust-Luga fuel export terminal, Russian officials said.   Earlier Ukraine also attacked the "Druzhba" (friendship) oil pipeline, which supplies oil to Hungary and Slovakia, causing supplies to be suspended. President Trump wrote to Hungarian President Orban that he was "very

It's our weekly US grain market prices analysis and outlook for corn, soybeans and wheat. Dow Jones  Industrial Average Index settled on Friday at 45,632, +686 points for the week. Crude oil  settled at $63.77, +0.63. Dollar Index  settled at 97.73, -0.11. Baltic Dry Index  (a shipping freight-cost index)  settled at 1,944, -100. Corn September futures  settled at $3.88¼, +4½¢ for the week. December futures settled at $4.11½, +6¼¢ for the week. Basis   (U = September; e.g. 10

Tidbits Brazil:  IMEA is a professional organization for Mato Grosso farmers, Brazil’s leading agricultural state. IMEA reported that cotton harvest for the state is 55.2% complete. Last year at this time, cotton harvest was 74.2% complete and the five years average is 78.6%. Farmers want to plant soybeans in those cotton fields in two weeks!   In Brazil, the second corn crop harvest is well underway, but the weather is predicted to turn wet and cold the first week of Septemb

Tidbits Pro Farmer published Crop Tour results. We will analyze the tour results tomorrow. Economy:  On Thursday, S&P Global reported the U.S. August S&P manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) unexpectedly rose 4.5 points to a three-year high of 53.3, better than expectations of a decline to 49.7.  Also, the Eurozone August S&P manufacturing PMI unexpectedly rose 0.7 to a 3-year high of 50.5, stronger than expectations of a decline to 49.5.   Federal Reserve Chairman J

Tidbits September CBOT options  expire today. All September basis contracts and long September futures positions need to be liquidated or rolled forward by the close of business on 28 August, next Thursday. Your merchandiser’s “house rules” may require action before the 28th.   Soybeans to China: Fox News reported late yesterday U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent told President Caleb Ragland of the American Soybean Association and the Governor of Ohio:  “We are in the process of

Tidbits Flash sale: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 100,000 mts of new crop corn to Colombia and 125,741 mts of new crop corn to Mexico. Soft red winter wheat  was strong yesterday for no apparent reason. In such situations, at the end of the day, market comments report there was a rumor China was shopping for U.S. products, in this case, soft red winter wheat.     Coconut oil  is one of the nine vegetable oils traded worldwide. Coconut oil prices in India h

Grain market summary of price outlook, seasonal situation, fundamental & technical analysis with our recommendations for corn , soybeans and wheat (Soft Red Winter, Hard Red Winter & Spring), fuel and fertilizer for past week Wednesday to Tuesday. Read about our approach to this report here . We provide three different marketing plans (in order of decreasing our preference). The marketing decision is yours to make, obviously you can mix those plans, change the sales size or

Tidbits Flash sale: Yesterday morning the USDA reported the sale of 228,606 mts of new crop corn to Mexico. U.S. soybean  farmers, led by the American Soybean Association (ASA), urged President Trump in a Tuesday letter to secure a trade deal with China that delivers substantial U.S. soybean sales, warning of dire long-term consequences if China remains a major buyer of Brazil and delays purchases from the United States. China is the world’s largest soybean importer and it ha

Tidbits Ukrainian President Zelensky and U.S. President Trump expressed hope that their White House summit yesterday with European leaders could eventually result in trilateral talks with President Putin over ending Russia’s war on Ukraine. Meanwhile, the war continues with no end in sight. Flash sale: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 124,000 mts of new crop corn to unknown. Pesticides:  The Make America Healthy Again Commission expects to recommend no action

Tidbits The 33rd Annual Pro Farmer Crop Tour  begins today and will end on Thursday. It will provide some definitive information about pollination and ear fill. The same routes are covered every year, which means the value of this tour is determined by yield comparison with previous years, not the USDA August numbers.     Call options:  We discussed yesterday the pros and cons of buying March 2026 corn $4.20 strike price call for 20½¢. The March $5.00 call has a premium (valu

It's our weekly US grain market prices analysis and outlook for corn, soybeans and wheat. Dow Jones  Industrial Average Index settled on Friday at 44,946, +771 points for the week. Crude oil  settled at $63.14, -0.21. Dollar Index  settled at 97.84, -0.43. Baltic Dry Index  (a shipping freight-cost index)  settled at 2,044, -7. Corn September futures  settled at $3.83¾, +1¢ for the week. December futures settled at $4.05¼, -¼¢ for the week. Basis   (U = September; e.g. 10N me

Tidbits Russia-Ukraine:  On the surface, Trump’s meeting with President Putin was a total failure. Trump had said he wanted a cease fire in Russia’s war with Ukraine and a framework for a lasting peace. The culture of Eastern Europe and a lack of a Ukrainian representative made Trump’s goals highly unlikely. The anti-Trumper news media is jumping all over this failure. However, Trump and Putin showed friendliness and mutual respect at their press conference. Trump was asked t

Tidbits Trump and Putin  talked for 2 hours and 45 minutes yesterday afternoon in Alaska. After the meeting, they held a press conference where they said there was no deal made, but a lot of progress was made. Trump said he will contact European leaders and Ukraine’s President Zelensky to fully brief them on the details discussed, there would be preparations for a three side meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, and the Ukraine should make a deal. Trump said

Tidbits Inflation: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the July producer price index (PPI) increased 0.9% from June, the largest one month advance since pandemic consumer inflation peaked in June 2022. The market was expecting a 0.2% increase. Many economists and politicians say the increased pace of inflation at the wholesale level of the economy reflects the cost of Trump's tariffs. In any case, wholesale inflation will soon find its way into the retail market as w

Tidbits Corn: Karen Braun was correct when she reported yesterday that U.S. corn stocks-to-use ratio at 13.3%, is the lowest for an August USDA projection in three years despite a yield 9.8 bushels above the previous record on the largest corn acreage since 1936. That is quite a testament to the magnitude of the corn demand.      Ukraine: Reuters reported last evening that European leaders and Ukraine's President Zelenskiy spoke with Trump in a last-ditch call hosted by Germa

Grain market summary of price outlook, seasonal situation, fundamental & technical analysis with our recommendations for corn , soybeans and wheat (Soft Red Winter, Hard Red Winter & Spring), fuel and fertilizer for past week Wednesday to Tuesday. Read about our approach to this report here . We provide three different marketing plans (in order of decreasing our preference). The marketing decision is yours to make, obviously you can mix those plans, change the sales size or

S&D Report Comment The biggest surprise on yesterday’s USDA S&D was the 2.1 million increase in corn planted acres and the decrease of 2.5 million acres of soybeans. The adjustment was made primarily as a result of the FSA certified acreage totals being available. This is the third consecutive year the FSA had the certified acreage paperwork completed before the August S&D. Always before, the certified acreage numbers were not available until September.   There is probably no

The numbers were:   Bearish Corn Yield was 188.8. That was higher than the highest estimate Corn acres were increased 2.1 million Bullish...