Wheat Futures Down After U.S.-China Has Quiet Finish — Daily Grain Highlights

By Kirk Maltais

-- Wheat for December delivery fell 0.4% to $7.04 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Friday, with traders following through on selling after the U.S.-China summit in Washington didn't result in new announcements of Chinese agricultural purchases.

-- Corn for December delivery rose 0.2% to $5.28 3/4 a bushel.

-- Soybeans for November rose 0.2% to $13.20 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Light on Results: CBOT grain futures fell after President Trump and Chinese leader Xi's summit in Washington wrapped up with no new announcements on agricultural purchases.

"Bull markets need to be fed daily, and no fresh news means a price correction to the downside has started," said Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. Blohm said that "any correction lower will be short-lived, due to overall smaller grain supplies globally," making the lower prices a potential buying opportunity for traders, as evidenced by a paring of losses as the day progressed.

Losing Steam: Losses in CBOT grains pared midday, turning positive late after the downward momentum earlier in the day ran out of gas. [We view] the early morning decline as momentum-driven rather than a deterioration in grain fundamentals," said AgResource in a note. The firm adds that wet weather in the Corn Belt and conflicts overseas continue to be factors supporting grain prices longer term.

INSIGHT

Remaining Tension: The U.S.-China summit held in Washington ended with a general lack of news, even though USTR Jamieson Greer said that substantive announcements out of the summit are coming Monday.

But the general sentiment following the summit is that the relationship between the U.S. and China remains saddled with "deep distrust," said analysts with Capital Economics in a note. "While the two sides can temporarily contain tensions, they remain at an impasse on many of their most important disagreements."

Next Steps: The USDA is scheduled to release its quarterly stocks report covering the third quarter on Sept. 30. Traders see the report as an indicator for how old-crop demand fared.

"This report hasn't brought much volatility in the last decade-plus, though it has produced bearish soybean moves in each of the last five years," said Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note. Attention is expected to grow next week, with traders right now focusing on implications from the Trump-Xi summit.

AHEAD

-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly Grain Export Inspections Report at 11 a.m. EDT Monday.

-- The USDA is due to release its weekly Crop Progress Report at 4 p.m. EDT Monday.

-- The USDA is scheduled to release its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2026 15:00 ET (19:00 GMT)