Corn Futures Hit 3-Year High on Lower Crop Estimate — Daily Grain Highlights

By Anthony Harrup

-- Corn for December delivery settled up 1.4% at $5.15 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, a three-year closing high after the Pro Farmer crop tour put anticipated yields below expectations.

-- Soybeans for November delivery fell 1.2% to $12.24 1/4 a bushel.

-- Wheat for December delivery was practically unchanged at $6.99 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Not So Fast: Most-active corn futures rose to their highest level since July 2023 as the market digested results of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, where weather-related problems led to lower yield expectations. The expected national corn yield of 173.2 bushels per acre compares with the USDA's most-recent 180.7 bushels-per-acre estimate.

"It's important to keep these numbers in context," Arlan Suderman of StoneX said in a note. The tour estimate is almost always below the USDA's August estimate, he says, and while the USDA number could continue to move lower, "it's difficult to see them make a cut this aggressive."

Export Inspections: U.S. corn inspected for export last week was the lowest in months, while wheat inspections fell and soybean inspections were higher than in the previous week, according to USDA data.

Corn inspections fell to 1.3 million metric tons from 1.34 million tons the week before, wheat inspections fell to 425,668 tons from 514,363 tons, while soybean inspections increased to 420,895 tons from 294,329 tons, even without China. In the marketing year-to-date, corn inspections are up 26% on the year, wheat down 26% and soybeans down 18%.

INSIGHT

Beans Aplenty: The Pro Farmer Crop Tour results, while bullish for corn futures, didn't help soybeans.

Pro Farmer pegged the 2026 soybean crop at 53.3 bushels per acre versus the USDA's 52.7 bushels per acre.

"Recent weather should help back up those predictions as the month of August has been pretty good for soybean production," Cory Bratland of AgMarket.net said in a note. He expects to see support around $12 for November soybean futures.

"We still have a very strong demand outlook for U.S. soybeans, and we are still dealing with the Super El Niño that could have an impact on South American crops," Bratland added.

Corn and Conflict: Wheat futures are overbought after recent gains, but holding within range and supported by rising corn prices and Black Sea export disruptions, Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives said in a note. Prices are likely to remain in range waiting for the next headline to hit, he said.

"If tensions were to de-escalate between Russia and Ukraine, it would be bearish, while if corn can continue higher, wheat will likely feel some spillover buying."

AHEAD

-- The EIA is scheduled to release its Weekly Petroleum Status Update Report at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.

-- The USDA is due to release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday.

-- The CFTC is scheduled to release its weekly Commitments of Traders Report at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday.

Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 24, 2026 15:39 ET (19:39 GMT)