Corn Settles Lower in Lackluster Grains Trade — Daily Grain Highlights

By Kirk Maltais

-- Corn for December delivery falls 1% on the Chicago Board of Trade at $4.56 a bushel as funds continue to unload long positions.

-- Soybeans for November delivery rise 0.3% to $12.56 1/2 a bushel.

-- Wheat for December delivery settles little changed at $6.25 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Unwinding in Process: Managed money is continuing its gradual shift from being record long to building short positions, said Brady Huck of EmpowerAg Trading. "It's been another bruising week in the grain markets, [as] fund selling pressure continued to weigh heavy on the grains," he said.

Traders may be looking for a turnaround in corn specifically, as an unwinding of a mountain of long positions in corn may be soon completed.

Black Sea Woes: Fighting appears to be escalating again in the Black Sea, which gave wheat futures some support in Europe as new strikes were reported overnight. Support appears limited now though, as the most active contract ends flat.

"There were no substantial results that would have given rise to hopes of an end to Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine," Commerzbank said in a note.

INSIGHT

Quick to Sell: Farmers have been seen aggressively selling their harvests when CBOT grain futures climbed back up to recent highs in the late summer/early fall.

That may have created other issues further down the supply chain, said Tanner Ehmke of CoBank in a note.

"Farmers have been aggressive sellers during recent rallies in corn, soybeans and wheat, transferring ownership of grain to elevators and cooperatives earlier than usual," he said.

Focus on Demand: Ahead of next month's WASDE, traders are keeping a close eye on what demand indicators show for U.S. grain exports.

"Our focus remains on demand rather than supply," said Rich Nelson of Allendale Inc. For corn and soybeans, export sales are a key metric, while for wheat "psychological pressure" from the Russia-Ukraine talks is seen having more impact even with little progress in those talks, he added.

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.

-- Smithfield Foods is scheduled to release its 3Q earnings report at 4:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

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

-- Pilgrims Pride is scheduled to release its 3Q earnings report after the stock market closes on Wednesday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2026 15:32 ET (19:32 GMT)