Corn and soybeans continued their bounce overnight after massive support levels were hit on Monday.
June 9, 2026
Grain Overview
Wheat and corn futures are seeing mild strength this morning, as the freefall in grain values for the last two weeks came to an end on Monday (wheat mostly on Friday), and the basketball bounce is at hand. Both spot and December corn nosedived right into multi-year support levels yesterday (410 July and 440 Dec), while wheat values, for the most part, retraced the rally that began in April. Soybeans are steady, but no buying interest has materialized there yet.
The US spring planting season is largely complete, and attention is shifting to crop conditions. Corn ratings held steady last week, while soybean ratings slipped 1%, despite expectations for improvement. Weather forecasts remain mixed, with above-normal temperatures across much of the country and several rounds of rainfall. For areas receiving moisture, conditions remain favorable for crop development. However, stress will begin to build in regions that miss these rain events. The heat across the Midwest and Delta will last for a couple of days, and then temperatures will plummet to 10-15° below normal next week. This will be a problem for ripening wheat, which is now at risk for scab.
Recent price weakness has also sparked renewed export interest. Attention now turns to Thursday’s USDA June WASDE report, which is expected to generate increased positioning ahead of its release. While few major balance sheet adjustments are anticipated (except that we are already at 98% of corn export sales commitments through September 1), the report will provide fresh data for the market to evaluate. This morning, the US dollar and energy markets are weaker, while equities are trading higher ahead of the opening bell.
As expected, corn farmers have shut off cash sales, causing the basis to improve now. Demand for ethanol producers is strong, given massive profit potential at the moment, especially with crude oil not having collapsed as corn values have. (E15 is on the front burner with Senate leader Thune indicating it can be brought to a vote in the Senate). Export demand is also favorable, with the exception of soybeans, as they await China’s action to lower its tariffs, indicating that its buying program for 25 MMTs of new-crop supplies will get underway. It’s coming; it’s just that traders don’t have the patience that the Chinese can exude.
Cattle Overview
Yesterday’s cattle trade was again volatile, with the sharply higher start met with a collapsing price range during the day, closing sharply lower. The USDA announced another three NWS cases within the general area of the first one, along with a dog. Headline fears are that as consumers see more of this, demand may dip. It never has to be proven for the board to do this; it’s just the thought of it until proven wrong. It’s also rumored that Cargill will close the Fort Morgan plant, which was also a big negative for the live cattle trade yesterday.
In all the hubbub yesterday, the cash feeder index was up $5.63 at $367.01. We are now back to wide premiums, with June live cattle indicating that, if they are correct in their pricing, a $ 10-$12 drop in cash is anticipated over the next 22 days. Another $10 would be added to that decline into August.
Yesterday, August feeder cattle held very important support in the 349-350 range, and if a recovery bounce does not occur from this level, then your next cascading break has support at 344-345. August live cattle had tumbled through their support yesterday of 239-240, with the next layer near 234, last Friday’s low. Much deeper than that, and you have an all-out liquidating phase, similar to what the grain trade produced over the past two weeks. Cracks and demand over the next week, and if it does not soften by much, the board will have a serious discount problem that will get dealt with.
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