The impending US crop report has intensified concerns about price fluctuations in grain futures.

Chicago soybean steadies, corn maintains highs, wheat retreats.

After two days of losses, Chicago soybean steadied, corn maintained a week high, and wheat retreated from a week high. At 11:49 GMT, Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures (ZS1!) rose 0.4% to $10.18/bushel; CBOT wheat (ZW1!) fell 0.5% to $5.59-3/4/bushel, and corn (ZC1!) rose 0.5% to $4.74-1/2/bushel. The grain market is further exacerbated by concerns over the damage to economic growth and the turmoil in financial markets from the US tariff policy. The recent crop report from the US government may provide an early forecast of the impact of the recent tariff announcement on trade.

On the news front, US President Trump imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods and pledged to impose reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners, and China retaliated by imposing tariffs on US agricultural products. In the spot market, China may opt for high-yielding Brazilian soybeans, as South American supplies are abundant and Chinese demand is slowing. Meanwhile, US corn is supported by limited alternative supplies in the global market, and analysts expect the USDA to cut US stocks at the end of the season. In wheat, concerns over dry weather in the US and Russian plains supported prices early in the week, but the Indian Ministry of Agriculture said the country may produce a record 115.4mn tonnes of wheat in 2025, weakening import expectations.