Corn

Data from the Commitment of Traders report showed speculators in corn futures and options added 2,000 contracts to their net short position, bringing the total to 134,000 contracts as of September 17. Commercial traders reduced their net short position by 5,000 contracts, down to 102,000 contracts.

Thursday’s Export Sales report indicated that total export commitments for corn are currently at 14 million metric tons (MMT), a 21% increase from the same period last year. This represents 24% of the USDA's export forecast, compared to the 30% average in previous years.

Overnight, a Taiwanese buyer tendered for a total of 65,000 metric tons of corn. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange estimates that Argentina's corn crop has been 7.1% planted, close to the average pace. The settlement price for December corn futures on September 19 was 401.75 cents per bushel, down 1% from the previous week's session.

Wheat

Friday’s Commitment of Traders report showed speculators in Chicago wheat futures and options cutting over 4,000 contracts from their net short position, reducing it to 25,000 contracts as of Tuesday. For Kansas City (KC) wheat, they reduced their net short position by 1,000 contracts, bringing it to 17,000 contracts.

Thursday’s Export Sales report showed that total export commitments for wheat are currently at 11 million metric tons (MMT), up 28% from the same time last year, marking a four-year high. This accounts for 49% of the USDA’s export projection, with the five-year average pace at 52%.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Agriculture estimates the winter wheat planting area for the 2024/25 season to decrease by 4.5%, down to 11.07 million acres. The settlement price on September 19 was 568.5 cents per bushel, up 1% from the previous week's session.

Soybeans

Data from the weekly Commitment of Traders report by the CFTC showed managed money funds trimmed 8,000 contracts from their net short position, reducing it to 122,000 contracts as of Tuesday. Commercial traders reduced their unusual net long position by nearly 8,000 contracts, down to 36,000 contracts, mainly due to an increase in short positions.

The USDA reported a private export sale of 121,000 metric tons of soybeans to China on Friday through the daily reporting system. USDA’s weekly Export Sales report showed that nearly 16 million metric tons (MMT) of U.S. soybeans have been sold for export in the 2024/25 marketing year, whether shipped or unshipped, down 6% from last year. This accounts for 32% of the USDA’s export forecast, trailing the 42% average selling pace.

China’s soybean imports from the U.S. in August totaled 202,383 metric tons, nearly double the amount from the same month in 2023. Imports from Brazil totaled 10.24 million metric tons, up 12% from the previous year.

Safras estimates that Brazil’s soybean crop has been 0.5% planted, compared to the average pace of 1.6%, and has updated its 2024/25 crop projection to 171 million metric tons. The settlement price on September 19 was 1,012 cents per bushel, unchanged from the previous week's session.

Source: Compiled data