Soybean Futures Rise on Anticipated China Demand — Daily Grain Highlights

By Kirk Maltais

-Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.3% to $11.80 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, with traders maintaining hope for more Chinese purchasing announcements to be reported by the USDA.

-Corn for December delivery were unchanged at $4.62 a bushel.

-Wheat for September delivery fell 0.1% to $6.39 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Eyes Eastward: CBOT soybean futures stayed above water for the day, on demand hopes for U.S. exports from China. "The bulls have the tentative edge… on oversold conditions in beans, anticipation of additional Chinese demand this week, and China's announcement of another auction of just over 500,000 tonnes of reserve beans as they continue to make space for U.S. arrivals," said ADM Investor Services in a note. The USDA reported a new flash sale of U.S. corn this morning, giving traders reason to believe more Chinese buying announcements are in the pipeline.

World Strains: CBOT wheat futures led the grains complex higher in morning trade, with world volatility playing a larger role in how wheat prices move versus other grains. "With several areas around the world (U.S./EU, potentially Australia) harvesting short crops, Russian and Ukraine exports restricted by war, and fertilizer supply tightness due to tensions in the Middle East, wheat prices are expected to trade higher over time," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note.

INSIGHT

The Global Picture: Many grain traders put their focus on Wednesday's WASDE report. While U.S. yields and production outlooks will play a big part in how the market reacts, traders are also looking for indications from the USDA about how global wars may impact import and export figures. "The U.S. crop is the most important single variable, but the trade around this report will be shaped as much by factors nobody can put a decimal point on--geopolitics, logistics, and a demand ledger that keeps growing while the market debates supply," said Jim Wiesemeyer of Ag Bull in a note.

Notable Absence: China was only a small destination for U.S. grain exports through the prior week, leaving soybean totals below the pace of last year. In the latest weekly Grain Export Inspections report from the USDA, the agency said that soybean inspections for the week ended Aug. 6 totaled 399,201 metric tons. That's up from this time last week, but overall soybean inspections reported for the 2025/26 marketing year remain below the pace of the prior marketing year at 39.75 million tons. China was the destination for 65,935 tons of U.S. soybeans, landing in the top 5 destination countries but well behind other countries like Germany, Mexico, and Japan.

Corn Sale: The USDA announced another flash sale of U.S. corn, with 105,000 metric tons sold to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2025/26 marketing year. The designator "unknown destinations" often denotes China, although that's not necessarily the case. The latest sale comes ahead of this week's WASDE report, which is expected to show updates on domestic crop progress and global production outlooks.

AHEAD

-Smithfield Foods will be announcing its second-quarter earnings report at 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday.

-The EIA will release its Weekly Petroleum Status Update report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

-The USDA will release its monthly WASDE report at noon ET Wednesday.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2026 15:10 ET (19:10 GMT)