After two days of losses following Monday’s bearish USDA reports, corn and soybean futures stabilized on Wednesday. Wheat managed small gains.
Corn futures ticked slightly higher, with the gains largely attributed to a technical bounce in the wake of the declines earlier this week. Strong ethanol production underpinned the market as well. EIA data from this morning showed US ethanol production jumping 98,000 barrels per day week over week to a record 1.196 million barrels per day. March corn gained 2 ¼ cents to $4.22 and new-crop December was up 2 cents at $4.47 ¾.
Soybeans were mixed, with gains in nearby March but losses in new-crop November. Technical buying offered support, with the USDA also reporting a private export sale of 334,000 tonnes of US soybeans to China this morning via its daily announcements system. March beans gained 3 ¾ cents to $10.42 ½, but November slipped a ¼ cent to $10.58.
Corn drew some support from dryness for the 2026 US winter wheat crop on the southern Plains. The 7-day forecast from NOAA shows very little precipitation in the southern Plains over the next week, with just light totals in the Soft Red Winter area. March Chicago wheat was up 2 cents at $5.12 ½, and March Kansas City was 2 ¾ cents higher at $5.22 ¼. March Hard Red Spring added 1 ¼ cents to $5.60 ¾, and March Minneapolis closed a ½ cent higher at $5.67.
