Soybeans, corn rebound on higher oil prices; US harvest caps upside
CORN•Chicago soybean futures rose 0.2% to $13.00 a bushel and corn gained 0.2% to $5.03, supported by higher oil prices and positioning ahead of Friday’s USDA supply-and-demand report. The advancing US harvest capped gains, while wheat fell 0.2%.
1. Grains firm
Chicago soybean and corn futures recovered some of the previous session’s losses on Thursday, supported by higher oil prices and positioning before a monthly USDA supply-and-demand report due Friday. Soybeans added 0.2% to $13.00 a bushel and corn gained 0.2% to $5.03; wheat fell 0.2% to $6.85-1/4.
2. Harvest and forecasts
The US harvest was gathering pace across the Midwest after heavy late-September rains stalled fieldwork. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the USDA to lower its estimate of average US corn yield while leaving its soybean yield view unchanged.
3. Other market factors
Oil prices rose amid concerns about supply from the Middle East, supporting grain markets because agricultural products are increasingly used in biofuels. Wheat losses were limited by reduced Black Sea supplies, while market participants weighed ongoing disruption to Black Sea trade against signs of rising Russian exports through alternative Baltic Sea routes. SovEcon cut its forecast for Russia’s 2026 wheat crop to 87.5 million metric tons from 88.2 million.
