BASIC & RECENT MARKET INFO

Tidbits Flash Sale:  Yesterday, the USDA reported sales of 136,000 mts of old crop corn to South Korea. Annual U.S. retail inflation  was reported at 2.8% in February, the same pace as in the previous month and matching expectations. Core annual inflation excluding food and energy was 3%, down from 3.1% in the prior month. Both remain well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. U.S. initial jobless claims  rose to 219,000 on the week ending April 4th, higher than was expected

Tidbits Markets & Premiums: Yesterday was a very disappointing day for grain futures as the sharply higher crude oil could only rally corn, wheat, and beans very modestly. Even though soybean oil settled sharply higher and May bean oil was up 1.86¢ a pound, May soybeans were down 5¢. May soybean meal was lower, but only $3 a ton. For a bushel of beans yesterday, the value of the 11½ pounds of oil per bushel increased 21.35¢ and the 48 pounds of meal per bushel decreased by 7.

Tidbits Iran: President Trump announced in a post yesterday that he was extending the deadline for a deal with Iran until 8 PM Eastern Time on 6 April at the request of the Iranian Government because talks are ongoing and going very well, despite erroneous statements to the contrary. Some sources are saying the chances of success in achieving a ceasefire remain low, as Iran and the United States are making demands that are unacceptable to each other. China: President Trump an

Tidbits U.S. Acres:  S&P Global Energy raised its corn plantings forecast to 95.2 million acres from its January projection of 95 million acres. USDA’s 2025 planted acres were 98.8 million. S&P projected U.S. 2026 soybean plantings at 85 million acres, up from its January forecast of 84.5 million and up from the 81.2 million acres seeded in 2025. The firm also projected total U.S. wheat plantings for 2026 at 44.050 million acres, 40,000 acres above its January projection but

Tidbits 8 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, 5 more than the previous day, as S&P Global reported. Two of the ships were sanctioned vessels loaded with Iranian natural gas. Iran's new leader made his first statements, calling for national unity and stating that the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed. Brazilian soybeans were having trouble getting phyto-sanitary certificates, as we mentioned yesterday. Cargill announced later yesterday it had suspended soyb

Tidbits Crude Oil & Fuel: Bloomberg reports that China has told their oil refiners to suspend diesel and gasoline exports. Japanese oil refiners are asking the government to release supplies from the strategic petroleum reserves and have also bought around 7 million barrels of U.S. crude oil for June arrival. U.S. Energy Secretary Wright said the Navy will escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz “when the time is right,” but their current focus is disarming Iran. He said

Tidbits Flash Sale: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 154,000 mts of new crop corn and 24,000 mts of 2027 crop corn to Japan. Soybean Demand & Oil: Weekly Export Sales   reported 407,100 mts of soybeans were booked for export this marketing year which ends 31 August. Soybean sales were down 49% from a week ago and down 30% from the 4-week average. China bought 75,500 mts, but 66,000 mts was switched from an unknown buyer to China. So, China only bought 9,500 m

Tidbits Tariffs: The Supreme Court ruled yesterday by a vote of 6-3 that President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are illegal. The Court ruled the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law meant for national emergencies, does not authorize a president to impose tariffs. Tariffs are considered taxes/duties, which fall under Congress’ constitutional authority. Any broad delegation of authority to the President requires clear statutory language that IEEPA does not i

Tidbits It is amazing how suddenly “everyone” trusts Communist China to do what they say they will do when it comes to business transactions. The South China Post reported early Thursday that China’s President Xi and President Trump will extend the trade war truce by as much as a year when they meet Beijing in early April. March soybeans  made a new high for the move yesterday, left a quarter cent gap on the chart, and settled higher than any day since the first day of Decemb

Tidbits Next Tuesday, February 10, the USDA will release its S&D (WASDE) report. Reuters released its survey of analysts ahead of the report, showing an average 2025/26 carryout estimates: Corn - 2.227 billion bushels (same as in January S&D) Soybean - 347 million bushel (350 mil in January) Wheat - 918 million bushels (926 mil in January) Yesterday’s soybean trade volume reached roughly 930,000 contracts, marking a new all‑time record. U.S. net farm income would fall 0.7% to

Tidbits The government  will have a partial shutdown at midnight tonight unless the Senate can find 5 more votes to advance a House approved spending package. The Democrats said they would not support any legislation if it included funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Eight Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in voting no. One “no” vote by Senate Majority Leader John Thune was strictly a parliamentary procedural reason, to be able to request a vote to re

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

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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 During Friday’s session, CBOT wheat futures put in new contract lows, and then bounced back to close exactly equal to the opening prices. People who know a lot more about technical analysis than we do said this creates a “dragonfly doji” pattern on the daily price chart. Investopedia.com states, “The dragonfly doji is a Japanese candlestick pattern that signals potential market reversal and reflects investor decisions.” It is a minor signal, but yesterday’s market ac

Tidbits CBOT will begin trading at 8:30 AM Central Time and close at normal time, 1:15 PM Central time. USDA is scheduled to release its November oilseed and grain crush numbers after the close. Farmer Bridge Assistance Program , Per Acre Payment Rates for 2025 acres: Barley: $20.51 Canola: $23.57 Chickpeas (Large): $26.46 Chickpeas (Small): $33.36 Corn: $44.36 Cotton: $117.35 Flax: $8.05 Lentils: $23.98 Mustard: $23.21 Oats: $81.75 Peanuts: $55.65 Peas: $19.60 Rice: $132.89

Tidbits The U.S. GDP  for the third quarter 2025 was released a month late yesterday, but it was good news as the economy expanded 4.3% from a year ago; the market expected an expansion of 3.3%. There were about a dozen other less important economic indicators for the U.S. economy that were a mixed bag of good and not so good news. A year ago, “everybody” predicted the U.S. would be in a deep recession by now because of Trump’s tariffs. Here are the Quarterly GDP numbers sinc

Tidbits Flash sale: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 330,000 mts of old crop soybeans and 66,000 mts of new crop soybeans to China. The ag markets  will close at 12:05 PM Central tomorrow and reopen at 8:30 AM Central the day after Christmas. January options expire on Friday. Long January futures and basis contracts need to be liquidated or rolled by the close of business Tuesday, 30 December. CBOT prices  were higher yesterday and the basis for corn and bean

Tidbits Flash sale: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 114,000 of old crop soybeans to unknown. The Consumer Price Index  (CPI) measures inflation at the retail level. Yesterday’s U.S. CPI number of 2.7% annual inflation rate surprised the markets, which expected an annual inflation rate of 3.1%. Lower inflation increases the probability of lower interest rates which is good for all working-class people and businesses, but it also reduces demand for U.S. dollar

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