Corn Futures Decline With Trade Issues in Focus — Daily Grain Highlights

By Kirk Maltais

• Corn for December delivery fell 0.9% to $4.07 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, as uncertainty about how this latest tariff situation plays out has traders pulling further out of commodity futures.
• Wheat for September delivery fell 0.1 to $5.16 3/4 a bushel.
• Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.5% to $9.94 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Tumultuous Times: CBOT grain futures finished the day mixed, responding to macro-level events that influenced markets across the board Monday.

"The weakening of the U.S. dollar, following disappointing employment figures for June and July, provided little support to the Chicago grain market," Argus said in a note. "The commodities sector is also suffering from steep tariffs announced by the Trump administration against the most defiant countries."

Data Dump: Data coming Monday afternoon look to define trading this week, with the USDA issuing its latest crop progress report and private firm StoneX releasing its first yield estimates for the 2025-26 crop.

Together, the data are expected to show a record-sized corn crop, with crop conditions being generally good on mostly supportive weather seen all summer.

Next week's WASDE report may provide further confirmation for what this week's data show.

Until then, supportive crop weather is expected to continue this week, said Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note.

INSIGHT

Adding Shorts: Managed money traders added to their short positions in row crops nearing the end of the month, the CFTC said in its latest Commitments of Traders Report. Fund traders added over 20,600 short contracts in soybeans, along with nearly 9,000 in corn and nearly 15,000 in wheat.

The increased amount of short positions looks to create a sizable cushion for short-covering action this week.

Animal House: Tyson Foods Inc. said in an earnings release Monday that more consumers are opting for nuggets and boneless breasts over beef.

The growing consumer appetite for chicken comes as livestock feed, the top expense when raising poultry, has gotten cheaper with lower grain prices, helping drive chicken profits higher across the industry.

Tyson said efforts to streamline its chicken business are paying off, reporting an operating profit from its chicken business of $367 million during the company's fiscal third quarter, up from $244 million a year ago.

Tyson and other meatpackers are facing the lowest U.S. cattle supply in decades, driving cattle prices to record levels for meatpackers.

AHEAD

• Zoetis Inc. is scheduled to release its 2Q earnings report at 7 a.m. EDT Tuesday.
• The EIA is due to release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
• Corteva Inc. is scheduled to report its 2Q earnings after the stock market closes Wednesday.
• Nutrien Ltd. is due to report its 2Q earnings after the stock market closes Wednesday.

• Patrick Thomas and Dean Seal contributed to this article.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com