BASIC & RECENT MARKET INFO

Tidbits Planting Feedback: Jeff in Minnesota sent us this information yesterday morning: “Friend of mine around Charleston (far southeast) Missouri called last night. Record heat temps along with dry soils. Planting corn 2.5” deep to get in moisture. And he is a no till guy. He said guys around there planted all their corn in 4 days.” Brazilian agency CONAB estimated yesterday total corn production 1.3 million higher, at 139.6 million mts, but below last year’s 141.2 million.

Tidbits Flash sale: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 126,000 mts of old crop corn to unknown and 100,000 mts of old crop soybean meal to Italy. Strait of Hormuz: There is a very slight chance of a long term solution to the Iran War will come from Islamabad, Pakistan, the site of the first face-to-face talks between U.S. and Iranian people which is under way this morning. Vice President JD Vance is leading the U.S. delegation. Before a long-term deal can b

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, t

Tidbits Iran rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal and maintained attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab states, Reuters reported. Trump’s 15-point peace plan stipulated that the Islamic Republic dismantle its main nuclear facilities and use a reduced missile arsenal in self-defense only. Iran would get certain concessions in return, including sanctions relief. Iran wants guarantees that the U.S. and Israel will not resume attacks, alongside reparations for war damages and recognition

Tidbits Ag Futures will not trade Sunday night to Monday afternoon morning due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Grain futures will reopen Monday evening at normal times. Exports: Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale of 136,000 mts of old crop corn to South Korea and 334,000 mts of old crop soybeans to China. Chinese customs data showed they imported 8.044 million mts of beans from all sources in December 2025, up 1.2% from December 2024. Total imports in 2025 at 111.8

Tidbits The commander of the Iranian Army Navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, stated yesterday that the 104th Iranian flotilla is headed towards South America with the objective of escorting freighters. President Donald Trump said the United States had dealt a deadly blow to ISIS terrorists in northwestern Nigeria. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed a Bloomberg report about Russia adjusting its Ukraine peace plan as fake news saying Bloomberg has no reli

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. dollars

Tidbits Peace Talks: U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held previously unannounced talks late Monday and all day Tuesday with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi as part of an intense new push by President Trump to end the war in Ukraine. Initial reports Tuesday morning were things were going just peachy, but when presented to Ukraine’s officials, who arrived in Abu Dhabi late Tuesday, it was immediately rejected. A group of European countries supporting Ukraine, which is known as

Tidbits Inflation: Two weeks ago, the U.S. inflation rate for the past 12 months was reported to be 3%, way above the Federal Reserve’s stated goal of 2%. Three days later, the Fed reduced the Fed Fund Rate. Chairman Jerome Powell said, “Inflation has eased significantly from its highs in mid-2022 but remains somewhat elevated relative to our 2 percent longer-run goal." In August 1971, the U.S. annual inflation rate reached an "intolerable" 3% and all financial “experts” pr

Tidbits We have added pricing comments for soybeans & fuel to the Weekly Summary & Recommendations, make sure to take a look. U.S.-China: President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Thursday in Asia. That means they will talk while Americans are sleeping. The Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. and China have agreed to reduce port fees on vessels over 80,000 mts, which was a major point of contention. Most grain is shipped in Panamax vessels which gross 55,000

Tidbits Tariffs: Yesterday, President Trump signed trade deals with Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Tariffs on most of their exports to the U.S. will remain at 19%. Thailand and Malaysia will increase exports of rare earth minerals to the U.S. while allowing increased access of U.S. products to all three countries' markets. At the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, President Lula of Brazil and Trump talked for nearly an hour yesterday and indicat

Tidbits The USDA will release its September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) at 11 AM Central Time today. As expected, CBOT ag markets were higher yesterday as they recovered from oversold conditions the previous two days. The market will trade the production numbers in the few first minutes or so after the report is released, then the market will trade the U.S. carryover numbers for 3 to 20 minutes, and then the market will trade the world carryovers in

Tidbits CBOT grain and oilseed markets are usually lower the two to four days before the USDA releases its monthly S&D. Yesterday, everything except bean oil was lower after being lower on Tuesday. Typically, prices reach a price low enough that some of the shorts (traders who sold before they buy) decide to take some profit and liquidate their short position by buying futures which results in a very modest rally the day before the S&D. The September S&D will be issued at 10

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 The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) reported yesterday at midday they crushed 185.709 million bushels of soybeans in June, a 6% increase from June 2024. The NOPA soybean crush has now set new monthly records 8 of the 10 months this marketing year. Soybean oil stocks were down 6.7 million to 1.366 billion lbs., slightly higher than trade expectations. This is the smallest June oil inventory since 2004, and 16% lower than a year earlier. To learn more abo

Tidbits Soybeans traded sharply lower yesterday because bean oil traded down the 3¢ per pound daily limit yesterday morning. That was because EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said late Wednesday that setting the biofuel mandates for 2026 can be expected in the coming months, which was much later than the market expected. The real bean oil hammer were rumors reported by news wire services that the required Renewable Volume Obligation (RVO) levels in 2026 will be 4.65 billion gallo

Tidbits The U.S. crude oil inventory increased by 4.29 million barrels in the reporting week ending 9 May, a sharp reversal from the prior week's 4.49 million-barrel draw, according to the American Petroleum Institute. The markets expected a 2.4 million-barrel decline. None-the-less, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were up $1.72 a barrel yesterday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics yesterday morning reported the annual inflation rate at the retail level declined

Highlights The biggest news piece from yesterday’s S&D was the USDA increased corn exports by 100 million bushels. As many expected, the corn for feed was reduced by 25 million bushels, so the carryout was reduced by 75 million bushels, which took the carryout from a 37 day supply to a 35 day supply. The market expected a 30 million bushel reduction in the corn carryout. USDA did not change any of the corn or soybean production numbers for Brazil, Argentina, or Paraguay. Stud

Tidbits The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) was reported yesterday morning. It is the measure of inflation at the wholesale level. It was slightly higher than expected at 0.4% for the month of November. Unemployment claims were 21,000 higher than expected at 242,000. The market continues to expect an interest rate cut Wednesday even though the inflation numbers do not justify it. The market has priced in a 98% chance of a 25 basis points cut next week to 4.25-4.50% on the Fed

Tidbits U.S. inflation at the retail level increased 0.3% in November, the most in 7 months, but the Federal Reserve is still expected to cut interest rates next week to support job growth. However, the decline in the inflation rate has come to an end and the Federal Reserve's inflation goal of 2% per year is well below the November annual rate of 3.6%. Yesterday, the Bank of Canada reduced its base interest by 50 basis points (one-half percent) to 3.25%. Just a few months