Category: Grains

US soybean export inspections rise counterseasonally, corn inspections strong

The latest USDA Grain Export Inspections report showed corn inspections continued to operate above year-ago levels, while soybean movements trended higher. During the week ending March 19, corn inspections totaled 1.7 million metric tons (MMT), up 2 percent from the previous week and nearly 10 percent higher than the same week last year. Volumes remained…

Written by

Dawson Schmitt

·

March 23, 2026

The latest USDA Grain Export Inspections report showed corn inspections continued to operate above year-ago levels, while soybean movements trended higher. During the week ending March 19, corn inspections totaled 1.7 million metric tons (MMT), up 2 percent from the previous week and nearly 10 percent higher than the same week last year. Volumes remained above the five-year average but were still lower than inspections observed during the 2020/21 marketing year.

Mexico was the top destination for U.S. corn during the week. Japan, Colombia, and Spain were also in the top five. Accumulated corn inspections rose to 44.58 MMT, running about 38 percent ahead of the previous season.

U.S. soybean export inspections rose 12.3 percent higher last week to 1.1 MMT. Volumes were also 32 percent higher than the same week last year.

China was the top destination for U.S. soybeans during the week, accounting for about half of the volumes. Egypt was also a larger destination for the week. U.S. soybean shipments typically enter their seasonal lull moving through the spring months. However, shipments rose counterseasonally the past couple of weeks due to stronger exports to China.

In response, total soybean shipments have been recovering compared to year-ago levels, sitting 27 percent below last season at 29.18 MMT. That is still the slowest pace since the 2018/19 marketing year.

During the week ending March 19, U.S. wheat export inspections jumped 33 percent higher to 458,400 MT. Volumes were 5.5 percent lower than the same week last year despite the large weekly increase. However, SRW wheat and durum wheat volumes were above last year’s levels.

Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. wheat during the week. China was the second-largest destination, followed by Taiwan and Kenya. Total wheat inspections for the season are running 18 percent ahead of the previous year at 19.93 MMT. Inspections are also running at a five-year high, as cheaper prices spurred higher demand.

U.S. sorghum inspections rose sharply last week to 182,200 MT. All of the volumes were inspected for shipment to China. Year-to-date shipments are running 72 percent ahead of last season at 2.69 MMT.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.
Morning Grain Comments – March 23, 2026

Grains and oilseeds are lower on Monday following the overnight session. The U.S. dollar is lower. Crude oil is higher but has been swinging amid recent comments from President Trump regarding a potential pathway to end the war with Iran. Stock futures also surged on the news and are recovering from mulit-month lows. CORN Corn…

Written by

Dawson Schmitt

·

March 23, 2026

Grains and oilseeds are lower on Monday following the overnight session. The U.S. dollar is lower. Crude oil is higher but has been swinging amid recent comments from President Trump regarding a potential pathway to end the war with Iran. Stock futures also surged on the news and are recovering from mulit-month lows.

CORN
Corn futures largely recovered last week after Monday’s sharp decline. Prices have been largely rangebound since surging near $5 a bushel on the May contract earlier this month.

Futures retested those highs overnight before talks of a potential end to the war led to a reversal in the grain markets early this morning.

Private exporters reported the flash sale of 102,000 MT of corn sold to Mexico for the 2025/26 marketing year.

Brazilian consultancy firm AgRural reported that the country’s winter corn planting reached 97 percent complete as of last week. That compared to 100 percent a year ago.

Reuters reported that Argentina is shipping grains out at a strong pace amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Corn sales have been booming to help absorb one of the country’s largest harvests, according to the Rosario Grain Exchange.

SOYBEANS
Monday’s sharp selloff kept soybean futures under pressure last week. The May contract finished 64 cents lower.

Fear of the delayed meeting between Trump and Xi drew skepticism over future soybean purchases from China.

China decided to ease rules on soybean imports from Brazil. Chinese authorities acknowledged that it is not possible to attest to the absolute absence of weed seeds in soybeans.

The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said it expects China’s soybean imports to total 108 MMt for the 2026/27 marketing year, up 2 MMT from the previous season. The increase reflects “moderate growth in demand for soybean meal by China’s feed industry.”

Private exporters reported the flash sale of 161,120 MT of soybean sold to Mexico for the 2025/26 marketing year.

Brazil’s soybean harvest reached 68 percent complete as of last week. Progress was tracking about 12 percent behind last year’s pace.

WHEAT
Wheat futures have been establishing a trading range since reversing from multi-month highs earlier this month. Still, May Chicago wheat traded 18.50 cents lower last week.

Volatility has been picking since the war with Iran began. The trend has been bullish, though some of that momentum slowed with last week’s trade.

Little precipitation is expected for the Plains over the next week, which is not good for winter wheat, as drought covers about 55 percent of winter wheat areas in the U.S.
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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.
U.S. corn, soybean, and wheat export sales dipped in the week ending March 12

U.S. corn, soybean, and wheat export sales dipped last week, according to the USDA’s weekly export sales report. During the week ending March 12, corn sales dipped 22.7 percent to 1.17 million metric tons (MMT) for the 2025/26 marketing year. Mexico was the top buyer, followed by Japan and Spain. Total net sales of 12,000…

Written by

MaryAnne Knight

·

March 19, 2026

U.S. corn, soybean, and wheat export sales dipped last week, according to the USDA’s weekly export sales report. During the week ending March 12, corn sales dipped 22.7 percent to 1.17 million metric tons (MMT) for the 2025/26 marketing year. Mexico was the top buyer, followed by Japan and Spain. Total net sales of 12,000 metric tons (MT) for 2026/27 were for Japan.

Physical shipments were up 4 percent from the previous week at 1.75 MMT. Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn during the week. Japan, Venezuela, Spain, and South Korea rounded out the top five. Total exports and commitments for the marketing year rose to 67.697 MMT, up 30 percent year-over-year.

U.S. soybean export sales of 298,200 MT for 2025/26 were down 35 percent from the previous week. China was the top buyer for the week. Mexico and unknown buyers were the next top destinations. Net sales of 6,600 MT for 2026/27 were reported for Japan and South Korea.

Weekly soybean exports fell nine percent from the previous week to 906,500 MT. About 60 percent of the shipments went to China. Egypt and Mexico also landed in the top five destinations. Total exports and commitments for the marketing year rose to 36.796 MMT, 19 percent lower than a year ago.

U.S. wheat export sales were down 58 percent to 189,900 MT for 2025/26 from the previous week. Mexico was the top buyer for the week, followed by the Philippines and South Korea. Net sales of 212,100 MT for 2026/27 were primarily for the Philippines, Mexico, South Korea, unknown destinations, and Jamaica.

Exports were down 11 percent for the week at 383,100 MT. Mexico was the top destination, followed by the Philippines, Bangladesh, South Korea, and the Dominican Republic. Total exports and commitments for the marketing year rose to 23.9 MMT, sitting 15 percent higher than a year ago.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.
Ethanol inventories rebound while production dips slightly

U.S. ethanol production dipped 2.9 percent last week to an average of 1.093 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Output was within the range of market expectations and 1 percent below the same week last year. The estimated corn crushed for ethanol was about 105.5 million bushels. Cumulative crushings…

Written by

MaryAnne Knight

·

March 18, 2026

U.S. ethanol production dipped 2.9 percent last week to an average of 1.093 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday. Output was within the range of market expectations and 1 percent below the same week last year.

The estimated corn crushed for ethanol was about 105.5 million bushels. Cumulative crushings for the marketing year rose to approximately 3.001 billion bushels, reaching about 54 percent of the USDA’s target.

Ethanol inventories rose 3.2 percent from the previous week to 26.41 million barrels. Stocks were higher than expected and less than 1 percent below the same week last year. Inventories were above the five-year average.

Ethanol exports averaged 174,000 barrels a day last week, down from 188,000 the previous week but up from 111,000 the same week last year.
U.S. ethanol exports in January 2026 totaled 212.1 million gallons (mg), slipping 4% month-over-month. Canada continued to be the top destination with 70 mg of imports. Brazil tripled its imports of U.S. ethanol to 36.4 mg, the largest monthly purchase in nearly six years.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.
Soybean prices drop following trade talk uncertainty

Soybean futures fell below $12 per bushel, dropping as much as 3.5 percent, on Monday morning following a potential delay in trade discussions between the U.S. and China. The drop comes after President Trump stated he could postpone a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping if Beijing does not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.…

Written by

MaryAnne Knight

·

March 16, 2026

Soybean futures fell below $12 per bushel, dropping as much as 3.5 percent, on Monday morning following a potential delay in trade discussions between the U.S. and China. The drop comes after President Trump stated he could postpone a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping if Beijing does not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting was not in jeopardy, but acknowledged the possibility of it being rescheduled.

China’s purchases of U.S. soybeans have slowed after reaching their initial target of 12 million metric tons (MMT) of the commodity earlier this year.

Soybean meal and soybean oil prices also declined Monday morning, as much as 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.
Soybean crushings dip in February, remain above estimates, NOPA

U.S. oilseed processors crushed 208.8 million bushels of soybeans in February, up 17.4 percent year-over-year, according to the National Oilseed Processors Association on Monday. Volumes were also above the average trade guess that had predicted last month’s crush at 202.2 million bushels. Soybean oil stocks at the end of the month totaled 2.08 billion pounds,…

Written by

MaryAnne Knight

·

March 16, 2026

U.S. oilseed processors crushed 208.8 million bushels of soybeans in February, up 17.4 percent year-over-year, according to the National Oilseed Processors Association on Monday. Volumes were also above the average trade guess that had predicted last month’s crush at 202.2 million bushels.

Soybean oil stocks at the end of the month totaled 2.08 billion pounds, up 38 percent year-over-year. Volumes were at a 13-year high for February.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.
Corn and soybean inspections rebound, wheat dips

U.S. corn export inspections increased after recent declines, yet remained below year-ago levels, according to the USDA’s Grain Export Inspections report on Monday. During the week ending March 12, corn inspections totaled 1.66 million metric tons (MMT), up 9.3 percent from the previous week. Volumes were 2 percent lower than the same week last year.…

Written by

MaryAnne Knight

·

March 16, 2026

U.S. corn export inspections increased after recent declines, yet remained below year-ago levels, according to the USDA’s Grain Export Inspections report on Monday. During the week ending March 12, corn inspections totaled 1.66 million metric tons (MMT), up 9.3 percent from the previous week. Volumes were 2 percent lower than the same week last year.

Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn during the week. Japan, Colombia, Spain, and South Korea were also in the top five. Accumulated inspections for the marketing year reached 42.87 MMT, up 39 percent year-over-year.

U.S. soybean export inspections also increased 9.9 percent last week to 966,100 metric tons (MT). Volumes were up 46.9 percent compared to the same week last year.

China was the top destination, accounting for 56.5 percent of the volumes, followed by Egypt, Mexico, and Indonesia. Year-to-date inspections for the marketing year rose to 28.1 MMT, down 28 percent from the previous season.

For the week ending March 5, wheat export inspections dropped 31 percent to 343,000 MT. Volumes were also about 31 percent lower than the same week last year.

Mexico came in as the top destination for the week. The Phillipines, Bangladesh, South Korea and the Dominican Republic rounded out the top five. Accumulated inspections for the season are running 19 percent ahead of a year ago at 19.47 MMT.

Sorghum inspections softened last week to 127,600 MT, though movements remained sharply higher than a year ago. Year-to-date inspections rose to 2.504 MMT, running 61.2 percent ahead of the previous season.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.
Soybean, wheat export sales recover, corn dips

U.S. corn export sales dipped last week, while soybean and wheat sales recovered, according to the USDA’s weekly export sales report. During the week ending March 5, corn sales dipped 26 percent last week to 1.50 million metric tons (MMT) for the 2025/26 marketing year. Japan was the top buyer, followed by Mexico and South…

Written by

Dawson Schmitt

·

March 12, 2026

U.S. corn export sales dipped last week, while soybean and wheat sales recovered, according to the USDA’s weekly export sales report. During the week ending March 5, corn sales dipped 26 percent last week to 1.50 million metric tons (MMT) for the 2025/26 marketing year. Japan was the top buyer, followed by Mexico and South Korea. Total net sales of 500 MT for 2026/27 were for Japan.

Physical shipments were down 1 percent from the previous week at 1.68 MMT. Mexico was the No. 1 destination for U.S. corn during the week. Japan, Colombia, and South Korea also landed in the top five. Total exports and commitments for the marketing year rose to 66.51 MMT, up 32 percent year-over-year.

U.S. soybean export sales jumped 19 percent last week to 456,700 MT for 2025/26. Indonesia was the top buyer for the week, surpassing China. Mexico and Egypt were the next top destinations. Total net sales of 9,500 MT for 2026/27 were for Japan.

Weekly soybean exports fell one percent from the previous week to 995,300 metric tons (MT). About half of the shipments went to China.

China’s total commitments for the marketing year are sitting at 10.9 MMT, down 49 percent from the previous year and well below the five-year average. Commitments to non-China countries are running at a seven-year high due to slow Chinese purchases early in the season. Despite large demand outside of China, total commitments are running 19 percent lower than a year ago at 36.49 MMT.

U.S. wheat export sales jumped 49 percent higher last week to 455,400 MT for 2025/26. Mexico was the top buyer for the week, followed by China, and Japan. Net sales of 40,400 MT for 2026/27 were reported for Honduras, Colombia, and Nicaragua.

Exports were also 24 percent higher for the week at 432,000 MT. China was the top destination, followed by Mexico and Thailand. China has been appearing in export reports recently. The wheat shipments contained mostly white wheat.

Total exports and commitments for the marketing year rose to 23.66 MMT, sitting 11 percent higher than a year ago. Increased demand for HRW wheat has largely led the increase this season.

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PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS. FUTURES TRADING INVOLVES SUBSTANTIAL RISK AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS.