Corn futures are set for their longest losing streak since early 2025 on weak demand, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, with December corn trading lower for a fifth consecutive session on Monday as harvest pressure and the absence of a fresh bullish catalyst left a large fund position exposed. Monday’s settlement in the market tables put corn at 467.8 cents a bushel, up 0.16 percent on the day but down 3.11 percent on the week, with wheat at 660.0 cents, up 0.72 percent, and soybeans at 1,257.5 cents, up 0.32 percent.
The USDA’s Crop Progress report, released Monday afternoon for the week ending October 18, shows a harvest running two speeds. The corn harvest advanced 11 points to 44 percent complete, still well behind the five year average of 52 percent, with 95 percent of the crop mature and condition ratings steady at 56 percent good to excellent, split 43 percent good and 13 percent excellent. The soybean harvest jumped 18 points in one dry week to 64 percent complete, nearly catching the five year average of 65 percent, with 96 percent of the crop dropping leaves. Growers prioritised soybeans to avoid late season pod shatter, leaving corn standing: Iowa, the largest corn state, was only 26 percent harvested against a 50 percent average. Winter wheat planting reached 63 percent complete with 39 percent emerged, cotton harvest was 41 percent and sorghum 46 percent.
Positioning is amplifying the move. Brugler Marketing’s weekly summary, carried in market reporting, put managed money’s net long in corn futures and options cut by 86,482 contracts to 230,877 as of October 13, after USDA’s October supply report raised its corn yield estimate against trade expectations for a cut, lifting projected production to about 16 billion bushels. Brazil’s CONAB projects the country’s 2026/27 corn crop at 148 million tonnes, above USDA’s 139 million tonne figure.
Soybeans have the offsetting bid. USDA reported daily sales of 114,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China and 261,000 metric tons to unknown destinations for the 2026/27 marketing year, and market reporting describes near daily flash sales to China continuing. The grain trade’s problem is therefore specific rather than general: tremendous demand exists for all grains on the Southern Farm Network’s account, but corn needs harvest pressure to clear, or an outside market flip, before funds return as buyers.