Hard-charging soybean futures took a breath to end the week, managing just a mixed close while corn and wheat closed weaker.
Soybeans continued to draw support today from US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post on Wednesday that China is prepared to consider purchasing another 8 million tonnes of US soybeans – on top of the 12 million its has already purchased so far in the 2025-26 crop year. However, the initial strength wained as the day went along, and some profit taking emerged. March soybeans held on to post a 3-cent gain to $11.15 ¼, but new-crop November lost 4 ½ cents to end at $10.94.
Profit taking also weighed on corn, after the market touched a three-week high on Thursday. March dropped 4 ¾ cents to $4.30 ¼, and December lost 3 ¼ cents to $4.57 ¾.
Corn weakness and heavy global supplies pressured wheat. Much of U.S. Hard Red Winter country is seeing warmer-than-normal temperatures, with the potential for a needed bost in soil moisture from a Feb. 13-14 storm system, according to forecasts. March Chicago wheat was down 5 ½ cents at $5.29 ¾, and March Kansas City lost 7 ¼ cents to $5.31 ¼. March Hard Red Spring slipped 1 ¾ cents to $5.68, and March Minneapolis dropped 1 ½ cents to $5.70.
