BASIC & RECENT MARKET INFO

Tidbits April WTI Crude Oil  futures opened at $75.00 last evening, up $7.98. In a matter of seconds, it traded to $75.33 and, within 15 minutes, it traded down to $71.04. Brent crude traded as high as $80 in over-the-counter trading Sunday.   The big move up is primarily on fears the Strait of Hormuz on the south end of the Persian Gulf may be closed or blocked. More than 20% of global crude oil and 33% of international fertilizer trade passes the Strait of Hormuz. Some ship

Tidbits How will the markets react to the attack on Iran?  Logically, one would expect crude oil to trade higher. There will be fools buying crude oil futures on the opening this evening. They don't realize traders have already Bought the Rumor (U.S. will  attack Iran) and those same traders Will Sell the Fact (U.S. did  attack Iran). The only reason crude oil would maintain its $12 gain since mid-December is if the insurance companies refuse to insure ships sailing to and fr

Tidbits Israel plans to make further trade concessions to the U.S. on food and agricultural goods. The Israeli government intends to scrap a tax-free quota and raise levies to 50% on wheat-feed imported from countries other than the U.S. starting in April, as Bloomberg reports. Officials hope that boosting the competitiveness of U.S. wheat against Israel’s traditional suppliers — the largest of them being Russia — will help clinch a deal to ease tariffs on goods shipped to th

Tidbits Wheat:  Exporters announced yesterday that South Korean mills purchased 50,000 mts of U.S. wheat and 40,000 mts of Canadian wheat. The Koreans must have bought soft red winter wheat for immediate shipment because March soft red winter wheat was down 3¾¢ yesterday and all the other soft red winter contracts were 9 to 10¢ lower.    Even more amazing is the SRW March wheat futures gained 10¼¢ on the May, and settled inverted, meaning the nearby contract (March) is at a h

Tidbits China  is considering buying more U.S.-farmed soybeans , President Donald Trump said after what he called "very positive" talks with President Xi Jinping yesterday. In a goodwill gesture two months before Trump's expected visit to Beijing, Trump said Xi would consider hiking soybean purchases from the United States to 20 million metric tons in the current season, up from 12 million mts previously. March soybean futures rallied to $11.15 yesterday, but settled at $10.9

Tidbits The U.S. Composite Purchasing Manager Index  (PMI) was reported yesterday morning by S&P Global to be 52.8; the market expected 51.9. The “composite” PMI is the manufacturing and service sector combined. A PMI above 50 means purchasing managers plan to buy more supplies for their business in the coming month than they purchased the previous month. It is a forward looking economic indicator.      Crude oil:  A few days ago, the French navy intercepted a shadow fleet ta

Tidbits Flash sale: Yesterday morning the USDA announced the sale of 192,350 mts of old crop soybeans to unknown. Biofuel: Republican U.S. lawmakers plan to create a task force to study potential year-round sales of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline blends in the U.S., after an attempt to pass such legislation in a funding bill this week fell through. Farm groups and Midwest ethanol advocates blasted the decision to form a task force instead of passing legislation, calling it a blo

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