Tuesday October 20th, 2026, 5:00 AM CST BY: Cole Raisbeck
Grain markets continued lower to start the week. Wheat finished 5 cents lower in the Chicago contract and 4-5 cents lower in the KC contracts, while soybeans finished 7-8 cents lower, making new lows on the move. Corn also made fresh lows, trading below the October WASDE low and to the lowest level since early August, finishing 4-7 cents lower, with the bear spreads active.
Yesterday, the USDA reported flash sales of 114,000 MT of soybeans to China, along with 261,000 MT of soybeans to unknown destinations.
Weekly export inspections totaled 672,475 MT for corn, 240,308 MT for wheat, and 2,000,175 MT for soybeans. Corn harvest continues behind the 5-year average, with Monday’s Crop Progress report showing corn at 44% harvested, 8 percentage points behind the five-year average. Soybeans were 64% harvested, 1 percentage point ahead of the five-year average.
TO DO: November grain options expire this Friday, October 23rd. Review any remaining positions you may have.
WHAT WE’RE THINKING:
Harvest pressure continues, with corn breaking below the October USDA report low, with funds liquidating over 85,000 contracts off their long position last week. Soybeans followed corn lower despite another round of strong export news, including fresh flash sales to China in recent days along with large inspection numbers.
WHAT TO WATCH:
We are watching energy markets, since November crude traded up above $108.00 overnight to new contract highs. We’re also watching yield as more yield reports come in.
Overnight Markets
December Corn: The trading range is 3¢, the last trade shows corn futures are down 1¢ at $4.66 per bushel.
November Soybeans: The trading range is 8¢, the last trade shows prices up 2¢ at $12.55 per bushel.
Wheat: Chicago wheat is up 1¢, KC wheat futures are up 2¢, Minneapolis wheat is down 1¢.
Global Stock Markets: The stock market in Japan is down 1.30%. European stocks are down 0.67%. Chinese stocks are up 0.12%.
Outside Markets: The US Dollar Index is down 0.13 at 101.85. Crude oil is up $4.51 cents per barrel at $108.17. S&P futures are down 5 points at 7,730.50. Dow futures are up 93 points at 52,274 and gold futures down $29 at $4,131.
Livestock Futures: Livestock futures finished mixed on Monday. December live cattle were 32 cents lower, finishing at $228.02. November feeder cattle gained $2.02 to finish at $343.42. December lean hogs were 57 cents lower at $66.35.
TODAY’S CHART: Weekly December Corn
This is the weekly chart of December corn, which made a low in late June before gaining over $1.24. It rallied to its early-September high, just below $5.50. Since then, the market has drifted lower over the last six weeks, breaking below $4.70 yesterday. As the market searches for a harvest low, a level we will be watching is $4.57. That is where the August lows were made, and is also a 75% Fibonacci retracement of the June low to the September high (a $1.24 move). That $4.57 level is the blue line.