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🤝 The US and China agreed to cut tariffs on $30 billion worth of nonsensitive goods, including US ag exports, and extended their trade truce until mid-January. 🌐 The two sides also launched an AI dialogue and agreed no country should impose tolls on international waterways, an apparent jab at Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
🇨🇳 China released a list of 1,619 US products exempt from additional country-specific tariffs, including wheat, corn, rice, sorghum, and meats. 🫘 Soybeans were left off the list and slipped overnight, even though China has been buying US beans aggressively.
🌽 Dec corn gained about a penny Friday to close near $5.28 after last week's selloff over the lack of detail on Chinese purchases. 📈 Nov soybeans rose 2 cents to $13.19, while wheat slipped on hopes for easing Black Sea shipping disruptions.
🌧️ Des Moines has received nearly 13 inches of rain this month, about 10 inches above normal, and needs just under 2 more to tie the 1914 September record. ☔ Another round of rain arrives Tuesday, but the 8-14 day outlook turns drier across Iowa.
💰 Western Corn Belt soybean processors are paying premiums of 60 to 85 cents for immediate delivery as rain delays harvest, with Cargill's Sioux City plant offering up to $1 over November futures. 🏭 It's a big opportunity for farmers with old-crop or early-harvested beans, as USDA projects a record 2.78 billion bushels crushed this year.
📊 Funds sold 10k corn contracts last week but still hold their third-largest net long on record at 404k. 🚀 They bought 24k soybean contracts, pushing their net long to a record 265k.
🛢️ Trump rejected a phased seven-day deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports, and Iran says it won't soften its terms. ⚠️ Tensions are spreading as Iran-backed Houthis launch drones and a missile toward Saudi Arabia, with reports Trump could resume bombing after the midterms.
🐄 ICE operations in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have caused labor shortages at feedyards and packing plants, delaying shipments of thousands of cattle. 🥩 Several southwest Kansas plants halted operations last week, which could tighten beef supplies and push already-high prices even higher.