Wheat futures moved higher on Wednesday, powered by dryness in US southern Plains winter wheat areas. Corn and soybeans gained as well.
A USDA report pegged the condition of the winter wheat crop in top producer Kansas at 60% good to excellent as of Jan. 4, down 2 points from the end of November, although still above the previous year’s 47% rating. Much of Hard Red Winter country has been drier than normal over the past month, with periods of well above-normal temperatures that prevented some crops from going dormant or fully dormant. Beneficial rain and snow were moving into the region today, and lasting until Friday, but dry conditions are expected to return next week. March Chicago was up 7 ½ cents at $5.18, and March Kansas City closed a dime higher at $5.31 ½. March Hard Red Spring gained a nickel to $5.61 ¼, and Minneapolis was 3 ¼ cents higher at $5.70 ½.
Soybeans were boosted by trader positioning ahead of next week’s USDA WADE report release, and recent export demand from China. On the export front, it is now looking increasingly likely Beijing will hit its expected target of 12 million tonnes of US soybean purchases by the end of February. March beans were up 10 ¾ cents at $10.67, and November 2026 added 7 ½ cents at $10.75 ¼.
Corn rose amid trader positioning and expectations the USDA will trim its 2025 US corn yield and production estimates when it releases its January WASDE report. March gained 2 ¾ cents to $4.46 ¾, and new-crop December added 2 cents to $4.63 ¾.
