Wheat, corn and soybeans decline in Chicago on Tuesday

Wheat, corn and soybean futures closed lower on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Tuesday, October 20. Wheat recorded the largest decline, with December contracts falling by 1.83% to $236.35/t. December corn futures dropped by 1.07% to $181.89/t, while November soybean futures declined by 0.42% to $458.65/t. The downward price movement came amid new data on fieldwork progress in the United States and developments in global grain and oilseed trade.

Wheat futures declined across all three major US exchanges. December soft red winter (SRW) wheat futures in Chicago fell by 12 cents per bushel, hard red winter (HRW) wheat futures in Kansas City lost 8.5 cents, while spring wheat futures in Minneapolis declined by 8.25 cents. According to USDA NASS, winter wheat planting in the US was 63% complete as of October 18, which was 6 percentage points below the five-year average. The largest delays were recorded in Kansas, Michigan and Ohio, while crop emergence had reached 39% of the planted area.

Corn futures also ended the session lower, with December contracts losing 5 cents per bushel, while March and May futures each declined by 4.5 cents. According to USDA, US farmers had harvested 44% of the corn crop as of October 18, which was 8 percentage points below the average pace. The largest delays were recorded in Iowa and Michigan. Meanwhile, the NOAA forecast indicates limited rainfall across most of the US Corn Belt next week, which could accelerate harvesting. In addition, Brazil’s ANEC raised its October corn export forecast by 460 thsd tons to 6.87 mln tons, up 5.68% from a year earlier.

In the soybean market, November futures in Chicago declined by 5.25 cents per bushel to $12.48 per bushel, while January contracts fell to $12.64 per bushel. Meanwhile, USDA reported a private export sale of 612 thsd tons of US soybeans to China for delivery in the 2026/27 MY. As of October 18, the US soybean harvest was 64% complete, just 1 percentage point below the average pace. At the same time, ANEC lowered its forecast for Brazilian soybean exports in October by 150 thsd tons to 6.4 mln tons, down 13.03% from the corresponding month last year.

European grain markets showed mixed price movements on October 20. December milling wheat futures on the Paris-based MATIF exchange fell by 1.04% to €241.50/t, while March contracts declined to €241/t. In contrast, November corn futures rose by 0.46% to €294.75/t, while March contracts reached €271.75/t.

Tags: corn, soybean, Grains, oilseeds, wheat, global market