By Anthony Harrup
--Corn for March delivery settled down 1.7% Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade at $4.42 1/4 a bushel, taking a step back after testing resistance late last week.
--Wheat for March delivery fell 1.2% to $5.13 a bushel.
--Soybeans for March delivery fell 0.8% to $10.63 1/2 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Test and retreat: Corn led the market lower, pulling back after briefly breaching the key $4.50 resistance level in Friday's session. Corn started the week "as if last week's test of the upper end of the trading range was just that, a test," Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives said in a note. Export demand remains strong, and the USDA is expected to lower its 2025 corn yield estimate in January, but "the market had gotten to be overbought, so the rally may need to pause as that corrects," he added.
Inspections Down: The Agriculture Department reported lower U.S. grain inspections for export for the week through Dec. 25. Corn inspections fell to 1.3 million metric tons from 1.75 million tons the week before, but were up from 907,565 tons in the year-earlier week. Soybean inspections were 750,312 tons, down from 929,365 tons the previous week and 1.64 million tons a year earlier. Wheat inspections fell to 302,096 tons from 635,626 tons the previous week and were down from 339,492 tons a year earlier.
Rolling Over: Soybeans moved lower with market focus turning to the March contract ahead of this week's first notice day for January. "The focus will shift over to the March contract as commercials and producers roll their positions to the March or beyond this week," Cory Bratland of AgMarket.net said in a note. The Brazilian weather looks good, and although the next two weeks might see some dryness, that will be followed up with some good rains, he says. "March soybeans seem to have found some support around $10.60 but rallies will be shallow like we saw last week," he added.
Wheat's Retreat: Wheat futures extend their pullback from last week's rally following losses in corn and soybeans, but with the continuing Russia-Ukraine conflict offsetting some of the weight on prices from large global supplies. "Between now and the 2026-27 Northern Hemisphere winter wheat harvest, global wheat supplies are expected to remain ample, supported by strong Southern Hemisphere production--most notably a record crop in Argentina," Keegan Madigan of Total Farm Marketing said in a note.
AHEAD
--The CFTC will release its Commitment of Traders report covering the week ended Dec. 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.
--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report covering the week ended Dec. 18 at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
--The USDA and CME will be closed in observance of New Year's Day Thursday, reopening on Friday.
--The USDA will release its monthly Grain Crushings report at 3 p.m. ET Friday.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-29-25 1506ET
