BASIC & RECENT MARKET INFO

Tidbits Iran:  The ongoing protests in Iran escalated the past two days. The Iranian government cut internet access and telephone service in the major cities on Thursday. The demonstrations now span all 31 Iranian provinces. The protests began as a protest against an economy in freefall but soon broadened to demand the overthrow of the government. Rebels report they have complete control of two major Iranian cities. The Human Rights Activist News Agency, which tallies only vi

Tidbits Tariffs: The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to announce later this morning their decision on the legality of Trump’s tariffs. The administration faces the possibility of having to refund nearly $150 billion paid in tariffs to importers if the court declares that the sweeping duties Trump has imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are illegal. Venezuela: The U.S. Senate voted yesterday to advance a resolution that would bar President Donald Trump

Tidbits On Monday at 11 AM Central Time, the USDA will issue its revised estimates for domestic and world Supply and Demand (S&D), the final 2025 U.S. crop production and yield numbers, the Quarterly Stocks (inventory) of commodities as of 1 December 2025, Winter Wheat and Canola seedings, and Cotton Ginnings. The January USDA reports are one of the top three major report days of every year for grain producers and users. The market action of March futures for the day of & the

Tidbits Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 336,000 mts of old crop soybeans to China. China’s state stockpiler Sinograin purchased 10 U.S. soybean cargoes this week, totaling about 600,000 mts for March–May shipment, the total U.S. crop purchases are now estimated at 8.5–10 million mts, up to 80% of the 12 million mts Secretary Scott Bessent said China pledged to buy by end-February. Venezuela’s Stock Market was up 17% on Monday and 50% yesterday after Nicolás

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Tidbits Iran's  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to yield to President Trump’s threat to come to the aid of protesters, as rights groups reported a sharp rise in arrests following days of unrest sparked by soaring inflation. Khamenei said the Islamic Republic  "will not yield to the enemy"  and that rioters should be "put in their place" .   Venezuela:  After the U.S. military kidnapped Venezuela’s Dictator/President Madura, President Trump stated he will desig

Tidbits Flash sale:  Yesterday morning the USDA announced the sale of 132,000 mts of old crop corn to South Korea.   Crush numbers:  The USDA reported yesterday after the close the November soybean crush was 221 million bushels; the market expected 225.2 million bushels. None-the-less, the November soybeans crush was 11 million bushels (5.2%) above a year ago. The meal inventory at the end of November was 463,019 tons, just 103 tons above a year ago while the oil inventory wa

Tidbits Russia-Ukraine: President Trump said he talked to President Putin about two hours yesterday morning before meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelensky yesterday afternoon at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida to discuss a plan to end the 4 year war with Russia.   The leaders confirmed that the meeting about a 20-point peace plan was productive, but added that there is more work to be done such as negotiating security guarantees and navigating the future of

Tidbits Technically, March corn is looking good after testing its 100 day moving average the past three days and then settled up 4¢ yesterday. March beans traded 6¢ higher early yesterday, then 7¢ lower later before settling down 2¾¢, about 10¢ below its 100 day moving average and a little below the bottom of the gap from 27 October. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is 21.36 is quite supportive. Fundamentally, the market is talking about Brazil’s “bigger than ever” bean crop

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Tidbits Flash sales: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of: 150,320 mts of old crop corn to unknown 136,000 mts of old crop soybeans to China Soybeans: All eyes yesterday were on January soybeans as its price traded into the 27 October gap on the daily chart by 3¼¢, reducing the gap to 4¢. January beans settled 1½¢ above the top of the gap (which is friendly), but down 5¢ on the day. Yesterday’s NOPA crush was lower than expected at 216.041 million bushels but was

Tidbits Flash sales: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of: 264,000 mts of old crop soybeans to China 226,000 mts of old crop beans to unknown 186,000 mts of old crop corn to unknown Crude oil: OPEC’s latest monthly report maintained a firm demand outlook due to consistent demand in China and India while reiterating that non-OPEC supply growth is set to moderate in 2026. The group also noted that OPEC+ supply management continues to anchor market stability. In its

Tidbits U.S. crude oil stocks including the SPR rose by 800,000 barrels in the week ended Nov. 28, following a 3.3 million-barrel build the prior week. It was up 0.1% from the prior week and 2.9% year over year, and remained about 3% below the five-year seasonal average. Imports from Mexico dropped by 431,000 bpd to a weekly record low of 131,000 bpd in the week. Venezuela’s oil exports averaged about 921,000 bpd in November, the year’s third-highest monthly level. Overall ex

Tidbits Ukraine’s  President Zelensky's powerful chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, who has headed Ukraine's peace negotiation team, quit yesterday, hours after anti-corruption agents raided and searched his home. A wide-spread probe into high-level corruption has sparked public outrage and thrust its leadership into crisis as Trump increases the pressure on Zelensky to reach a settlement.   Crude oil: Two Russian shadow fleet tankers were struck, and likely destroyed, north of t

Tidbits Early last week President Trump authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela. On Friday, a large crude refinery and chemical facility in Venezuela had a serious explosion, the cause of which is reportedly unknown. On Monday, the U.S. will designate Venezuela’s drug Cartel de Soles as a foreign terrorist organization for its alleged role in importing illegal drugs into the U.S. That designation legally allows a U.S. military strike on any target within the country tha

Tidbits During the 43 days the U.S. government was shut down, December spring wheat gained 6¢, Hard Red Winter December wheat gained 42¢, Soft Red Winter December wheat gained 47¢, December corn gained 28¢ and January beans gained $1.30, new highs not only for the year, but higher than any time since June 2024.   There has been a lot of talk over the years that farm commodities are the only products in the U.S. that everyone is told what production was in the past and expecte

Tidbits Soybean Outlook We were concerned before Friday’s USDA numbers were released that the soybean rally would soon end because soybean exports are not meeting expectations.   China had never confirmed the purchase of any U.S. soybeans the Trump administration reported.  On Friday, USDA confirmed the sale of 332,000 mts of soybeans sold during the shutdown to China, which is about 100,000 mts less than what the rumor mill and the Trump administration had reported. It is po

Tidbits Soybean export:  CHS reports that China bought at least four cargoes of soybeans on Friday. Shipments are scheduled for December and January and will originate from both the PNW and the Gulf.   A trader with “inside” connections says the USDA has 20 million mts of soybean exports to China plugged into the S&D for this marketing year. If so, the China deal will not result in an increase in exports on the next USDA S&D.   OPEC  will meet tomorrow to discuss December pro

Tidbits Tariffs & Trade:  President Trump announced yesterday that he will increase tariffs on Canada by 10% after he accused the provincial government of Ontario of producing an ad campaign that misrepresented former President Reagan’s speech on tariffs.   The ad campaign, which aired during the World Series games in Toronto Friday evening, Trump said was aimed to influence the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court hearing on his administration’s tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford agr

Tidbits Venezuela : The Pentagon announced yesterday the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford with its Strike Group has been ordered to Latin America to target drug trafficking organizations, marking a significant increase of the U.S. military buildup in the Latin American region.     U.S. Economy:  Markets have priced-in nearly a 99% probability the Federal Reserve will reduce the Fed Fund interest rate 25 basis points (a quarter of a percent) next week, with similar odds for