Monday June 22, 2026, 5:10 AM CST
MORNING MARKET COMMENTS BY: Al Kluis
This is Kluis Commodity Advisors with your opening grain comments. Thursday, the grain markets closed lower ahead of the three-day weekend. The grain markets were under pressure with crude oil prices moving lower and a generally favorable weather forecast for the next two weeks. The CFTC Commitments of Traders report will be released this afternoon.
Last week I wrote that we are in the ideal two-week time period for a low in the grain markets. The Friday-to-Friday higher close was encouraging. Now, watch for these closes as signals of that low: July corn above $4.26, July soybeans above $11.40, and July KC wheat above $6.45. If the grain markets chop sideways to lower, then these change-of-trend numbers will also move lower.
The news over the weekend is that Iran is shutting down the Strait of Hormuz because of Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon. However, the negotiations continue in Switzerland.
Last week, July corn closed 4¢ higher, July Soybean futures closed 10¢ higher and wheat futures closed 5¢ to 22¢ higher.
This morning, corn is 2¢ lower soybeans are 3¢ higher and wheat futures are 3-6¢ lower.
On the Dalian Commodity Exchange in China, corn futures are higher and soybean futures are lower. In the grain market in Europe, wheat futures are 8¢ per bushel higher.
TO DO: Review our price targets and where you should be.
WHAT WE’RE THINKING: Monday’s USDA Crop Progress report will show some improvement in corn and soybean ratings this week. The early numbers do not mean much, but the trend of the USDA crop conditions numbers during the month of July is important to watch for corn yield projections; the August is the key month to watch those number for soybeans.
WHAT TO WATCH: I am watching some massive trade action in the soybean options market. Some firms bought 10,000’s of out-of-the-money calls late this week. I will be watching future CFTC reports to see if this is new buying coming in again. Or is it the weather traders betting on the hot dry July/August weather forecast?
THE GRAIN MARKETS
Overnight Markets
July Corn: The trading range is 4¢; the last trade shows corn futures are down 2¢ at $4.15 per bushel.
July Soybeans: The trading range is 6¢; the last trade shows prices up 3¢ at $11.26.
Wheat: Chicago wheat is down 6¢, KC wheat futures are down 7¢, Minneapolis wheat is down 3¢
Global Stock Markets: The stock market in China is down 0.6% while stocks in Japan are up 1.5%. European stocks are down 0.1%.
Outside Markets: The US Dollar Index is up 0.03 points at 100.88, crude oil is down 60 cents per barrel at $75.25, S&P futures are down 6 points at 7,564. Dow futures are up 8 points at 52,015.
Livestock Futures: July hogs closed up 37¢ at $95.02, August cattle closed down $2.22 at $246.62 and August Feeder cattle closed down 82 cents at $366.60.
Today’s Chart: Corn
About this chart: This is the daily continuation chart of CBOT Corn. You can see the low ($3.69) in August 2025, and the rally to the high ($4.50) in December 2025. Note the large September-to-December continuation gap from $4.05 to $4.09. The corn market eventually put in a major high ($4.81) in May, then collapsed to the low ($4.06) on Monday, coming within 1 cent of filling the September-to-December gap.
What does this mean for you: Now the $4.05 to $4.06 price level is important support. To change the trend now nearby corn futures, we need to close above the two-week high ($4.25 ¾).
[Chart source: DTN/ProphetX]
MONDAY WEATHER
Good morning! I’m DT, Al’s weather guy. The forecasts show little change since late last week. This weekend brought heavy rain again across the central Corn Belt, with more on the way. The forecast is for cool temperatures again this week with warmer more seasonal temps as we enter July.
Some of the weather models project hotter and drier temps for July.
Al tells me the short-term forecasts are ideal, so if we are only trading weather, then prices would start out lower this week.