Chicago wheat firms on tender demand while corn and soybeans slide

Chicago wheat futures closed higher on Wednesday, 5 August 2026, while corn and soybeans extended their declines, according to the daily grain and oilseed report published by zol.ru. September soft red winter wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade rose to $235.98 per tonne, September hard red winter wheat on the Kansas City Board of Trade climbed to $262.17 per tonne, and September hard red spring wheat in Minneapolis slipped to $251.14 per tonne.

Wheat: winter contracts gain, spring wheat lags

September SRW wheat in Chicago settled at $6.42-1/4 per bushel, up 3 3/4 cents, and the December contract at $6.61-1/4, up 4 cents. In Kansas City, September hard red winter wheat settled at $7.13-1/2 and December at $7.31, both up 6 1/2 cents. Minneapolis moved the other way: September spring wheat ended at $6.83-1/2, down 1 cent, and December at $7.08, down 1 1/4 cents. Traders expect new-crop wheat sales of 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes for the week ended 30 July in Thursday's export sales report.

Tenders remained the main source of physical demand. Algeria bought about 720,000 tonnes of wheat on Wednesday at roughly $289 per tonne C&F, and Jordan held a tender on 5 August for 120,000 tonnes, with terms running to 11 August. Concerns over Black Sea shipments persist as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated in recent weeks, with attacks on vessels and ports. The Russian wheat exchange index NTB CPT Novorossiysk stood at 13,820 roubles per tonne excluding VAT.

Corn and soybeans under pressure

September corn settled at $4.36-3/4, down 5 1/2 cents, December at $4.60, also down 5 1/2 cents, and March at $4.75-3/4, down 5 3/4 cents. NOAA's seven-day outlook calls for rain across most of Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio in the coming week, with 1 to 4 inches in places. The US Department of Agriculture reported a private export sale of 120,000 tonnes of corn to Mexico, of which 30,000 tonnes are from the 2026/27 crop and 90,000 tonnes from 2027/28.

Old-crop corn sales are seen at 200,000 to 600,000 tonnes, with 2026/27 business projected at 0.7 million to 1.2 million tonnes. August soybeans closed at $11.51-1/2, down 3 1/2 cents, September at $11.56-1/2, down 2 1/4 cents, and November at $11.74-3/4, down 3 cents. Analysts expect old-crop soybean sales of 100,000 to 400,000 tonnes, new-crop bookings of 0.9 million to 1.55 million tonnes, soymeal sales of 200,000 to 500,000 tonnes and soybean oil sales from 10,000 tonnes.

In China, Sinograin sold 334,000 tonnes out of the 501,000 tonnes of imported soybeans offered at its latest auction, at an average price of $594.84 per tonne. European Commission data as of 2 August put EU soybean imports for 2026/27 at 0.66 million tonnes, down 50% year on year.

Europe: milling wheat up, crop and exports down

September milling wheat on the Paris MATIF exchange rose to 222.50 euros per tonne, or $256.59, and December to 231.75 euros, or $267.75. EU soft wheat exports in 2026/27 are estimated at 0.7 million tonnes, down 61% year on year, while French wheat FOB Rouen slipped to 220 euros per tonne in August. The European Commission cut its EU soft wheat production forecast for 2026/27 to 124.4 million tonnes, down 8%.

• Milling wheat, September 2026: $256.59 per tonne, up 1.12%
• Corn on MATIF, November 2026: $288.59 per tonne, up 1.84%
• Sunflower seed on SAFEX, December: 10,250 rand per tonne, down 0.40%
• Sunflower oil, Rotterdam bulk FOB on 4 August 2026: $1,495.00 per tonne

Chicago and ICE settlements on a per-tonne basis were as follows.

• Wheat, September 2026: $235.96 per tonne, up 0.59%
• Corn, September 2026: $171.95 per tonne, down 1.24%
• Soybeans, November 2026: $431.64 per tonne, down 0.25%
• Rapeseed on ICE, November 2026: 766.00 Canadian dollars per tonne, up 0.70%