CBOT review: Soybeans, grains climb as crude flows disrupted

SOYBEAN futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were stronger on Wednesday, trading just short of the nearby highs hit on Monday.

• Crude oil was higher amid the escalating war in the Middle East, disrupting production and movement in the region.
• Optimism over upcoming trade talks between the United States and China contributed to the gains in soybeans.
• However, large Brazilian supplies may limit any additional U.S. sales to China, with harvest conditions relatively favourable in the South American country.
• Updated supply/demand estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture released Tuesday, left projected soybean ending stocks for 2025-26 unchanged from February’s report at 350 million bushels.

CORN futures were also boosted by the rally in crude oil.

• Rising fertilizer costs may see U.S. farmers switch some acres out of corn and into soybeans instead.
• U.S. corn ending stocks for the current marketing year were left unchanged by the USDA at 2.127 billion bushels in Tuesday’s report.

WHEAT futures were higher, with speculative positioning a feature after Tuesday’s profit-taking move lower.

• Dryness concerns in parts of the U.S. Plains were somewhat supportive.

• U.S. wheat ending stocks were unchanged from February at 931 million bushels in Tuesday’s monthly USDA report.