Grain and oilseed futures slip as traders await USDA export and WASDE reports
Wheat, corn and soybean futures closed lower in Chicago on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, as traders trimmed positions before the USDA weekly export sales report on Thursday and the monthly WASDE update on Friday. September CBOT wheat fell 1.74% to $223.31 per tonne, corn dropped 1.97% and soybeans slipped 0.46%.
Grain and oilseed futures slip ahead of USDA export and WASDE reports
Chicago grain and oilseed futures closed lower on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, as traders trimmed positions before the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases its weekly export sales report on Thursday and its monthly WASDE supply-and-demand update on Friday, 10 July. According to Russian market service zol.ru, the wheat complex ended down across all three U.S. exchanges, while corn and soybeans also retreated.
Wheat under pressure
September soft red winter wheat on the CBOT fell to $223.31 per tonne, down 1.74% on the day. September Chicago SRW futures closed at $6.07-3/4 a bushel, off 10 3/4 cents, and September hard red winter wheat at Kansas City ended at $6.45-1/4, down 7 1/2 cents. September spring wheat on the MGEX in Minneapolis eased 2 1/4 cents to $6.31-3/4. Analysts expect U.S. wheat export sales of 250,000 to 600,000 tonnes for the 2026/27 season in the week ended 2 July.
A Bloomberg survey cited by zol.ru puts total U.S. wheat production at 1.527 billion bushels in Friday's WASDE, 17 million bushels below the June forecast, with winter wheat at 1.004 billion bushels and spring wheat at 458 million bushels. SovEcon raised its Russian wheat export forecast for 2026/27 by 0.2 million tonnes to 46.5 million tonnes, above the 46.2 million estimated for the prior season. The NTB index for Russian wheat CPT Novorossiysk stood at 14,900 rubles per tonne. Jordan bought 60,000 tonnes of barley from LD at $252.6 per tonne CFR Aqaba for 1-15 September shipment.
Corn and soybeans lower
September corn closed at $4.35 a bushel, down 8 3/4 cents, with the contract quoted at $171.26 per tonne, off 1.97%. Traders expect old-crop U.S. corn export sales of 0.6 to 1.1 million tonnes and new-crop sales of 600,000 to 900,000 tonnes. The Bloomberg survey sees old-crop corn stocks falling 66 million bushels to 2.079 billion in the WASDE, and new-crop stocks down 61 million to 1.899 billion.
November soybeans slipped 5 1/2 cents to $11.92-1/4, or $438.07 per tonne, down 0.46%. The USDA confirmed an export sale of 472,000 tonnes of soybeans to China, with 136,000 tonnes for 2025/26 and 336,000 tonnes for 2026/27 delivery. Analysts surveyed by Reuters forecast old-crop soybean sales of 50,000 to 500,000 tonnes and soybean meal sales of 250,000 to 600,000 tonnes. Bloomberg's survey shows old-crop soybean stocks down 3 million bushels to 337 million, while new-crop stocks rose 22 million bushels on a larger planted area.
European markets
In Paris, September milling wheat on Euronext MATIF eased to 204.50 euros per tonne ($233.38), down 0.37%, while December futures held at 213.00 euros ($243.08). August corn fell 1.94% to 232.25 euros per tonne ($265.04). Sunflower oil at Rotterdam was quoted at $1,495.00 per tonne FOB on 6 July, and Canadian rapeseed on ICE bucked the trend, gaining 3.04% to 783.70 Canadian dollars per tonne.
