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⛽ Diesel Prices – National average diesel hit a record $6.51/gal on Sunday, up 76% year-over-year, with off-road diesel nearing $6.00/gal in many areas. Fuel costs are adding $11/acre to corn and $7/acre to soybean budgets, and USDA Secretary Rollins hints at coming relief announcements. 💸
🇺🇸🇨🇳 Trump-Xi Meeting – Trump and Xi meet in Washington Thursday to tackle AI, trade, Taiwan, and the Iran war, with ag trade a key focus. China has crossed the halfway mark on its 25mmt soybean commitment, and weekend talks between Bessent and Li Chenggang were called "very successful." 🤝
🌧️ Corn Belt Rainfall – Heavy rain soaked eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin, and northern Illinois over the weekend, with some spots topping 4 inches and flash-flooding concerns Sunday morning. Saturated fields could delay harvest, though a drier week is expected ahead. 🌽
📉 Grain Markets – Soybeans dropped ~16 cents Friday to $13.04, pressured by profit-taking, weaker crude, and advancing harvest, while corn slid 3 cents to $5.28. Wheat also finished lower as traders eye a possible Black Sea de-escalation and this week's Trump-Xi summit. 📊
💰 CFTC Fund Positioning – Managed money's corn net-long hit a fresh record at 414,460 contracts, edging out last week's mark by a single contract. Funds trimmed soybean longs by 16k (still 2nd-largest on record) and sold 9k SRW wheat contracts. 📈
🚢 Soybean Flash Sale – USDA confirmed a fresh flash sale of 111,000mt (4 million bushels) of soybeans to China for 2026/2027 delivery. It's another sign of steady, if incremental, progress toward China's purchase commitment. 🌱
🐄 Cattle on Feed – September 1 inventory rose 1% YOY to 11.16 million head, while August placements fell to a record-low 1.62 million and marketings hit a record-low 1.52 million. The report looks bullish on the surface, but shrinking marketings raise questions about the cattle pipeline down the road — though the market's real focus stays on Thursday's Santa Teresa port reopening for Mexican feeder cattle. 🥩