Crush
The December crush narrowed about 3 cents to around $1.94, a sixth loss in seven sessions and the lowest level of this move. Soybean oil did most of the damage again, settling down 129 points at 62.24 after trading as low as 62.02, which cost the margin about 14 cents. December meal settled down $1.40 at 317.20 and January beans fell 14 cents. Meal is back to being the larger half of product value at about 50.5%. The crush has now fallen from $2.47 in late October to under $2.00, a drop of more than 50 cents in roughly two weeks.
Soybeans
January soybeans settled down 14 cents at $11.88¼, trading from $12.10 down to $11.86¾ on volume of 129,820, and reached another new low for the move. December soybean oil settled down 129 points at 62.24, a six-month low, while December meal settled down $1.40 at 317.20. Soybean oil open interest rose 12,216 contracts Wednesday, the clearest new short selling in the complex. Malaysian palm oil has fallen below MYR 4,500 to its lowest since June, hurt by a stronger ringgit and the collapse in crude. Palm oil competes with soybean oil, so lower palm prices are dragging on soybean oil. Brent crude is down close to 20% this week, on track for its largest weekly decline since April 2020. Iowa’s soybean harvest is 90% complete, and StoneX estimated the US yield at 55 bushels per acre against USDA’s record 53.1.
Corn
December corn traded down 4½ cents to $4.40¾ late in the session, near the low of a $4.40 to $4.47¾ range on volume of 185,897. The contract hit a four-month low at $4.38½ Wednesday before closing up 3¼. Open interest rose 23,392 contracts Wednesday, the largest single-session increase of the recent decline, and funds are now seen as having eliminated the net long they held in October. Farmer selling has slowed as harvest nears completion. StoneX estimated the US yield at 183.1 bushels per acre against USDA’s 181.2..
Wheat
December Chicago wheat settled up ¾ cent at $5.99¼, trading from $6.06½ down to $5.96 on volume of 87,153. Russian consultancy IKAR cut its 2026-27 wheat export forecast to 39.5 million tonnes from 42 million and its total grain export estimate to 49.5 million from 52.8 million. Rail and Baltic routes have limited spare capacity, and the planned mid-November closure of river navigation could tighten export availability. Three-way peace talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States are scheduled for Abu Dhabi on Nov 10-11. Managed money holds a net short of 62,637 contracts in Chicago wheat.
Cattle
December live cattle settled down $3.60 at $214.40, trading from $217.825 down to $212.475 on volume of 36,364, the largest single-day loss since the break began. January feeder cattle settled down $5.40 at $320.325 after reaching $317.00. Cash cattle traded actively this week with steers averaging $217.26 and heifers $217.56, down from $223.65 last week and $227.06 the week before, a decline of nearly $10 over two weeks. Boxed beef prices were lower again Wednesday. Cattle have now fallen for seven consecutive sessions.
Hogs
December lean hogs settled down $2.45 at $55.10, trading as low as $54.225 and setting another contract low on volume of 41,870. The December pork cutout was unchanged at $89.60. Thursday’s CME lean hog index was down $1.06 at $63.93, leaving futures roughly $8.80 below the cash index. Hog sector margins have diverged, with producers operating at large losses while packer margins have recovered.
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