GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 2 to 5 cents higher.
Soybeans: 4 to 6 cents higher.
Wheat: 1 to 2 cents higher.
GENERAL COMMENTS: Soybean strength continued in overnight trade, with strength in meal lending support. Corn and wheat are modestly weaker, stapped by technical resistance. Traders will be tuned in to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Holy Symposium, while Pro Farmer will release its national yield estimates at 1:30 pm CT.
Scouts on Day 4 of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour found an average yield potential of 198.43 bu. Per acre in Iowa. Soybean pod counts in a 3’x 3’ square averaged 1,384.38, up 5.5% from year ago and 13.0% from the three-year average. In Minnesota, scouts measured average corn yield potential of 202.86 bu. per acre, up 23% from year-ago and 13.4% from the three-year average. Soybean pod counts in a 3’ x 3’ square averaged 1,247.86, up 20.4% from year-ago and 19.9% above the three-year average.
Today, Pro Farmer will release its national yield estimates at 1:30 pm CT, which are separate from Crop Tour Results.
USDA reported daily corn sales of 119,769 MT to Costa Rica and 140,452 MT to Spain during 2025-26.
Europe’s scorching temperatures are curbing corn crop production, putting the European Union on track for its highest imports in three years, according to a Bloomberg report. The heat has reduced corn production prospects for both quality and yields, with the share of French corn rated in good to excellent condition falling to 62% in the week to Aug. 18. Matt Darragh, a grains and oilseed analyst at Kpler, said corn from Brazil and the U.S. is “pricing very competitively on the global market, which is encouraging import demand” and likely to support EU corn imports, according to the report.
The Kansas City Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole central banker symposium is in progress and the highlight is a speech this morning by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. He is expected to update the Fed’s monetary policy framework. Powell could provide a new perspective on how much FOMC support there is to lower U.S. interest rates in September.Bond traders expect Powell to indicate Fed policymakers will start cutting interest rates next month. However, his speech may remind traders and investors that any rate cut in September depends on the next round of employment and inflation reports. Jason Pride, head of investment strategy and research at Glenmede, said Powell will probably suggest that the U.S. economic data has weakened enough to support consideration of a rate cut, according to Bloomberg.
India’s exports to China surged 20.0%, year-on-year, to $5.8 billion in the first four months of FY 2025-26 (April-July), rebounding sharply from a 4.5% decline during the same period in FY 2024-25. Shipments to China in the first four months of FY 2024-25 amounted to $4.8 billion. The increase was driven by higher sales of energy, electronics, and agricultural products, official data showed, as reported by the Hindustan Times. Shipments in FY 2025-26 showed a consistent upward trend, with April rising 12.9% year-on-year, May surging 24%, and June and July increasing by 17% and 27%, respectively—despite fluctuations reflecting global trade conditions and seasonal variations in demand. In FY 2024-25, Indian merchandise exports to China dropped by 14.5% to USD 14.25 billion, compared to USD 16.67 billion in FY 2023-24.
CORN: December corn is trading within Thursday’s upper range, limited by the 40-day moving average of $4.13 3/4, while initial support lies at $4.09 1/2. Broader resistance is at the 100-day moving average of $4.33, while additional support lies at the 20- and 10-day moving averages of $4.06 1/4 and $4.04.
SOYBEANS: November soybeans continue to edge higher despite technically overbought conditions. Resistance now stands at $10.64 1/2, which is backed by the June 20 high of $10.74 1/4. Meanwhile, support now lies at $10.48 1/4 and is backed by the 10-, 100-, 200-, 40- and 20-day moving averages.
WHEAT: December SRW wheat is hovering mostly above the 10-day moving average of $5.27 3/4, which is backed by this week’s low of $5.17 1/4. Resistance stems from the 20-day moving average of $5.33 ¾ and is backed by the 40-day moving average of $5.49 1/2.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Higher.
HOGS: Higher.
CATTLE: Cattle futures may hold a subdued tone into USDA’s Cattle on Feed Report, though the commencement of firmer cash trade may lend bulls the confidence to edge higher. Meanwhile, boxed beef continues to surge amid continued retailer demand despite notably reduced slaughter. Choice boxed beef rose $2.01 on Thursday to $407.86, while Select rose 44 cents to $383.60.
HOGS: Lean hog futures have consolidated in sideways trade this week, as buyers pause amid declining cash fundamentals and a weaker technical posture. However, this week’s surge in cattle futures has certainly proven supportive. The CME hog index is projected to wither another 25 cents to $108.32. The pork cutout value fell 41 cents to $112.60.