Wheat futures dropped on Wednesday amid a mix of factors, including renewed peace talks, planting progress, weak demand, and favorable weather. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to trilateral peace talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine scheduled for November. Meanwhile, dry conditions in the U.S. Midwest are expected to persist, though Nebraska and western Iowa may receive up to 25 millimeters of rain by next Wednesday. Above-normal temperatures and precipitation are forecasted for the following week.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada adjusted its projections for 2026-27 wheat ending stocks, lowering them by 150,000 tonnes to 5.650 million. Total wheat exports were raised by 250,000 tonnes to 28.75 million, though both figures remain slightly below the 2025-26 levels. SovEcon reduced its 2026-27 Ukrainian wheat export forecast by 1.2 million tonnes to 14.4 million.
Soybean prices continued to decline due to harvest pressure and fund selling, despite increased U.S. exports to China. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported a private export sale of 134,000 tonnes of new crop soybeans to China, along with another sale of 165,000 tonnes to Spain. ANEC estimated October Brazilian soybean exports at 6.4 million tonnes, a decrease of 150,000 from its previous estimate and 13 percent lower than the same month last year.
Corn futures saw a slight uptick, ending a recent slide on the Chicago Board of Trade. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported daily average ethanol production for the week ended October 16 at 1.094 million barrels per day, up 29,000 from the previous week. Ethanol stocks grew by 616,000 barrels to 24.558 million. ANEC estimated October Brazilian corn exports at 6.87 million tonnes, up 460,000 from its previous projection and a 5.7 percent increase from last year. SovEcon cut projected Ukrainian corn exports for 2026-27 by 3.8 million tonnes to 17.2 million. Taiwan purchased 65,000 tonnes of corn in a tender, likely from Brazil.