Overview

• Chicago soybeans slipped on Friday but remained up about 1% for the week after President Trump said soybeans will be a major topic at his upcoming meeting with China’s President Xi.
• Traders reported funds have been net buyers of soybeans since the comment, with Wednesday’s session flipping higher into the close and a modest pullback on Thursday and Friday.
• USDA’s quarterly report pegged Sept. 1 U.S. corn stocks at 1.532 billion bushels versus the trade’s 1.336 billion estimate, leaving corn futures and cash prices weaker and on track for a third straight weekly loss.
• The government shutdown has postponed routine releases such as Fats & Oils and weekly Export Sales, pushing the market to rely on private figures including StoneX’s U.S. soybean yield of 53.9 bpa and production at 4.326 billion bushels.
• Analysts say heavy U.S. and South American supplies and tepid export demand, with China yet to buy new-crop U.S. beans, are capping prices despite short-lived rallies, even as Brazil’s early planting dryness is noted.