Corn

The USDA reported a private export sale of 124,000 MT of corn for the 2024/25 season sold to unknown destinations this morning. The USDA will release updated Crop Production data on Friday, with an average estimate from a Reuters survey of analysts at 183.7 bushels per acre, down 0.1 bushels from last month, within a range of 182.5 to 185. Production estimates are at 15.189 billion bushels, ranging from 15.075 to 15.3 billion bushels.

Census data showed corn exports at 4.279 MMT (168.44 million bushels) in September, the highest for that month in six years. This figure was also 35.61% higher than last year but down 17.02% from last month. Exports of distillers’ grains decreased by 1.79% compared to 2023, reaching 1.012 MMT in September. Ethanol exports set a monthly record at 148.49 million gallons in September, up 5.17% from the previous month. Sorghum exports were 473,627 MT in September, the highest for that month in nine years.

The December 2024 contract settled at 418.5 cents/bushel, up 2 cents, equivalent to a 0.48% increase.

Wheat

The wheat markets posted gains across all three exchanges to close out Tuesday. Chicago SRW contracts were up 3 1/4 to 3 3/4 cents as the session concluded on Election Day. KC HRW contracts gained fractionally to 5 3/4 cents across the board. MPLS spring wheat was up 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 cents on the day.

Census export data showed total wheat exports at 2.453 MMT (90.14 million bushels) in September. This figure was slightly higher than August's total and up 33.3% from last year.

Egypt’s GASC purchased a total of 290,000 MT of wheat in a tender, with 120,000 MT from Romania, 120,000 MT from Ukraine, and 50,000 MT from Bulgaria. Japan is tendering for 121,790 MT of wheat from Australia, Canada, and the US, with 71,712 MT specifically from the US. South Korea also issued a tender for 100,000 MT of wheat, split equally with 50,000 MT from the US and 50,000 MT from Australia.

The December wheat contract settled at 572.5 cents/bushel, up 3.75 cents, representing a 0.66% decrease.

Soybeans

Crop Production data will be updated by the USDA on Friday morning, with a Reuters survey of analysts expecting a yield of 52.8 bushels per acre, down 0.3 bushels from last month if realized. The range of estimates is from 52.1 to 53.8 bushels per acre. Production estimates range from 4.495 to 4.64 billion bushels, with an average of 4.557 billion bushels, down from 4.582 billion bushels in October.

Soybean exports totaled 2.98 MMT (109.4 million bushels) in September, marking a four-year high for that month. This was up 73.69% from August and 19.17% higher than last year. Soybean meal exports set a record for September at 1.126 MMT, up 23.81% from last month. Soybean oil exports were more than halved compared to last year, at 27,377 MT, down 37.71% from last year.

The January 2025 soybean contract settled at 1001.75 cents/bushel, up 4.5 cents, equivalent to a 0.45% increase.