GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 1 to 3 cents higher.
Soybeans: 4 to 6 cents lower.
Wheat: 3 to 5 cents lower.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybeans and wheat saw selling pressure overnight though did see an increase in buying going into the break. Corn saw relative strength, holding firm technical support. Summer rallies in soybeans and corn are at risk of being negated on a lower close today. Front-month crude oil futures are lower again this morning while the U.S. dollar index is near steady.
USDA reported daily export sales of 197,272 MT of corn for delivery to unknown destinations for delivery during the 2026-27 marketing year.
The U.S. and Iran extended their pause in hostilities Tuesday, with the focus turning to talks between Tehran and Oman over restarting shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. “Omani officials hope to make an announcement signaling progress in the next few days, though there’s no guarantee that will happen, as discussions between Omani and Iranian negotiators are ongoing,” said a Bloomberg report. President Trump said there are currently “very deep talks” with Iran and suggested the negotiations involving Oman are the main track, and that Iran is talking because of the pressure caused by U.S. military strikes, said the report.
The National Weather Service today said the persistent upper ridging continues in place over the central U.S. but has moved south, bringing another period of well-above-normal temperatures across the southern U.S. as the Midwest cools off just a bit. Widespread afternoon highs will reach the mid to upper 90s, with localized readings exceeding 100 degrees across portions of Texas, Oklahoma and the lower Mississippi Valley. High temperatures combined with high humidity will produce dangerous heat indices approaching or exceeding 105 to 115 degrees. Additionally, temperatures will remain above normal across portions of the northern Plains/Rockies with highs in the 90s. Across the southwest, daily afternoon and evening thunderstorms will be fueled by monsoonal moisture over the Four Corners through the central/northern Plains. Additionally, there is a severe thunderstorm threat across the central High Plains, as the storms may be capable of producing severe hail and locally strong wind gusts. Further north across the northern/central High Plains, a surface trough will bring a severe thunderstorm threat capable of producing hail and damaging winds on Wednesday.
Monday afternoon’s weekly USDA crop progress reports showed U.S. corn and soybean crop conditions deteriorated more than expected last week. USDA said 63% of the corn crop was rated good to excellent as of Sunday, down from 67% a week ago and two percentage points below the average trade guess of 65% in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Last year at this time the crop was rated 73% good to excellent. The Pro Farmer Crop Conditions Index (on a 0-to-500 scale, 500 equals perfect) saw an 8.25- point decline to 364.39. USDA pegged 63% of the soybean crop in the good or excellent categories, down from 66% last week and also two percentage points below the average guess. Soybeans were rated 70% good to excellent last year. The CCI rating dropped 5.23 points from last week as well to 365.09. The spring wheat crop’s rating was 53% good to excellent, unchanged from last week and two percentage points above the average guess. The Pro Farmer CCI dropped 7.01 points to 344.38
CORN: December corn futures held support at the 10-day moving average at $4.74 3/4 overnight. Additional support lies at $4.68 on another slide. Resistance stands at $4.80 then the for-the-move high of $4.87 1/2 on sustained strength.
SOYBEANS: November soybean futures saw additional selling overnight. Support comes in at $12.03 1/2 then the psychological $12.00 mark on further selling. Resistance stands at $12.18 on a bounce.
WHEAT: September SRW wheat futures are facing sustained selling pressure. Support comes in at the psychological $6.50 mark on persistent selling, with reinforcement from $6.40 1/2. Bulls are looking to reclaim $6.54 1/4 resistance on a bounce, with reinforcement from resistance at $6.67 1/4.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Choppy/lower.
HOGS: Choppy/higher.
CATTLE: Live cattle and feeder futures are expected to open with a mostly weaker tone in a continuation of yesterday’s selling pressure. Bears remain in control of the technical advantage on the daily bar chart. Some support remains under the market as last week’s low is still intact. Cash cattle showed another sharp week-over-week decline last week, falling another $7.80 to $230.48. Choice beef rose $1.65 to $362.89 Monday, showing modest strength after the string of recent losses.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open with a mostly firmer tone in a continuation of recent strength. While deferred contracts fell under pressure on Monday, technical support limited selling pressure. The CME lean hog index is up another 32 cents to $98.23 as of July 24, extending the recent string of gains. Pork cutout meanwhile fell 18 cents to $104.45 Monday, led by losses in bellies.