CBOT July 2020 soybeans with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Choppy markets settle lower as demand destruction persists

Corn, soybeans down slightly as traders square positions

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell slightly on Tuesday as traders squared positions at month-end. A faster-than-average U.S. seeding pace in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Monday crop conditions report pressured corn futures, while traders noted the condition of U.S. winter wheat was not as good as expected. Demand for […] Read more

CBOT July 2020 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Active planting weighs on corn

Chicago wheat hits lowest level since March 19

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures slid on Monday on favourable U.S. planting weather coupled with struggling crude oil prices that continue to pressure demand for corn-based ethanol, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures slipped to one-month lows as expected rain across Europe eased concerns about crop stress while competitive Saudi […] Read more

CBOT July 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn, soybean futures down off gains

Chicago wheat also weak

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures fell on Friday after three straight days of gains as investors took some risk out of the market due to demand uncertainty stemming from the global coronavirus pandemic, traders said. Wheat futures also were lower, with forecasts for some rain in key production areas of Europe […] Read more

CBOT July 2020 corn with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn gains on short-covering

Soy firms on export deal

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rose 2.4 per cent on Wednesday as traders unwound bearish bets following the market’s decline to its lowest since September 2009 on Tuesday, traders said. “Corn got down to the lowest prices yesterday we have seen in many years, and we have a short-covering bounce,” said Greg Grow, […] Read more

CBOT May 2020 corn (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages, and NYMEX May 2020 WTI crude oil (purple line). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn hits lowest since September 2009

Soybeans firm on bargain buying; wheat mixed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures fell 1.4 per cent on Tuesday to a fresh 10-1/2-year low as crumbling demand for fuel due to the global coronavirus pandemic threatened the ethanol sector. “They are taking their cue from energy,” said Mark Schultz, chief market analyst at Northstar Commodity. “It is a pretty tough business […] Read more


Valero Energy’s ethanol plant at Aurora, S.D., about 90 km north of Sioux Falls. (Valero.com)

COVID-19 spurs new clash between Big Oil, Big Corn

Flagging consumption leads to pressures on U.S. fuels, biofuels

New York | Reuters — A fuel demand meltdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak in the United States has started up a new fight between the oil and agriculture industries over the nation’s biofuel policy, this time over whether the policy should be suspended or expanded as a result of the crisis. The issue once […] Read more

CBOT May 2020 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn futures set 3-1/2 year low as ethanol output tumbles

Soy futures consolidate after 3-1/2 week low

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures dropped to their lowest level in about 3-1/2 years on Wednesday as weekly ethanol output set a record low, reflecting weak demand for the crop during the coronavirus outbreak. Soybean and wheat futures also fell at the Chicago Board of Trade. Demand for corn-based ethanol has suffered as […] Read more



If gasoline consumption falls by 15 to 20 per cent over the next two months it could reduce 2019-20 corn consumption by 120 to 170 million bushels, according to Todd Hubbs, assistant professor of agricultural commodity markets at the University of Illinois.

Biofuels expect hard hit with reduced travel

Gasoline consumption decline could mean lower corn prices

Glacier FarmMedia – COVID-19 is expected to bring trouble to the biofuel sector and that is already depressing corn and other grain prices. “Biofuel producers are under desperate strain,” Emily Skor, chief executive officer of Growth Energy said in an email. “This is unlike anything we’ve seen before.” Why it matters: Ethanol has put a […] Read more

Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)

CBOT weekly outlook: Corn values stabilize

MarketsFarm — The April world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture didn’t hold much sway over corn on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) on Thursday. Corn ending stocks for the U.S. were pegged at 53.15 million tonnes, about five million tonnes higher than the previous month’s report. However, […] Read more