Soybean and corn futures rallied sharply on Tuesday, with soybeans leading the advance after the USDA delivered unexpectedly bullish supply-demand estimates for both crops.
Wheat futures posted more moderate gains, amid a more neutral to bearish outlook in the November report.
Soybeans received the biggest boost as the USDA lowered its 2026-27 U.S. ending stocks forecast by 15 million bu from October to 300 million bu, surprising traders who had expected inventories to increase. Although the USDA raised its soybean yield estimate to 53.3 bu/acre, the increase was smaller than anticipated. Production was lifted by just 12 million bu, while projected exports increased by 25 million bu to 1.72 billion bu. January soys jumped 39 ¾ cents to $12.28, and new-crop November gained 19 ¼ cents to $11.93 ¾.
Corn moved higher after the USDA cut its yield estimate by 1.6 bu/acre to 179.6 bu/acre, reversing part of October's unexpected increase. Production was lowered by 141 million bu to 15.893 billion bu, while ending stocks dropped to 1.758 billion bu, below trade expectations of 1.846 billion bu. December added 9 ¾ cents to $4.49, and March was 9 ¼ cents higher at $4.61 ½.
Wheat futures posted more modest gains, supported by spillover buying from corn and soybeans and some short covering. The USDA raised U.S. wheat ending stocks by just 3 million bu to 743 million bu, slightly below trade expectations. However, larger production estimates for Argentina and Australia, along with a 4.8-million tonne increase in projected global ending stocks, limited the advance. December Chicago was up 4 ¾ cents at $5.92 ¾, December Kansas City edged 1 ¾ cents higher to $6.34 ¼, and December Minneapolis was 6 ½ cents higher at $6.28 ¾.
