Corn, wheat and soybean futures all finished lower Friday following the USDA’s September supply-demand report, with soybeans suffering the sharpest losses as updated U.S. crop estimates disappointed bullish expectations.
Soybeans came under heavy pressure after USDA unexpectedly inched its 2026 yield estimate up to 52.8 bu/acre and production to 4.535 billion bu. Traders had expected both numbers to decline. Although the USDA cut 2026-27 U.S. soybean ending stocks to 310 million bu, that remained well above the 291 million expected by the trade. Weekly export sales showed old-crop net cancellations of 175,309 tonnes, while new-crop sales reached a stronger-than-expected 2.637 million tonnes. November beans fell 35 ¾ cents to $12.96 ½, and March was down 34 cents at $13.18 ¾.
Corn also weakened after USDA’s production cut fell short of expectations. Yield was lowered to 178.5 bu/acre and production to 15.8 billion bu, but traders had anticipated deeper reductions. Projected ending stocks of roughly 1.6 billion bu were also above pre-report expectations. Corn export sales included 79,788 tonnes of old-crop business and 1.929 million tonnes of new-crop sales, both better than trade expectations. December slipped 3 ½ cents to $5.30 ¼, and March lost 3 ¾ cents to $5.45 ½.
Wheat was pressured by a heavier global balance sheet. USDA raised world production and lifted projected ending stocks to 276.29 million tonnes, contrary to expectations for a slight decline, while leaving the U.S. balance sheet essentially unchanged. Wheat export sales of just 194,233 tonnes fell short of expectations and were sharply below year-ago levels. December Chicago lost 16 cents to $7.25 ¼, and December Kansas City was down 20 ¼ cents to $7.98 ¼. December Hard Red Spring fell 12 ½ cents to $7.58 ½, and December Minneapolis closed 17 ½ cents lower at $7.45.
