Chicago Commodity Exchange Commission corn, wheat and soybean futures rose on Thursday as a weaker dollar made U.S. crops more affordable for importers using other currencies and speculators bought into the rally. The most active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 0.2% to $4.31 a bushel by 5:09 a.m. Japan time, while CBOT soybeans rose 0.2% to $10.77-1/2 a bushel and wheat rose 0.3% to $5.37-3/4 a bushel.
On Wednesday, corn hit a 2-1/2-week high, and on the same day, wheat hit an 8-week high and soybeans hit a 7-week high.
“It’s all about the weakening of the dollar,” said Vitor Pistoia, an analyst at Rabobank. “A weaker dollar could make U.S. exports cheaper and increase trade demand.” The dollar was near a four-year low on Tuesday after falling sharply over the past two weeks, but hopes of further dollar weakness were raised after U.S. President Donald Trump described the dollar’s value as “excellent.”
Weighing on the dollar are expectations for continued rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, uncertainty over tariffs, threats to Fed independence, and rising budget deficits, all of which are undermining investor confidence in the U.S. economy.
Commodity funds were heavily net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat and soybean futures on Wednesday, traders said. “There was an unusual level of short covering by managed money groups today,” StoneX analyst Bevan Everett wrote about wheat in a note. However, the abundant global supply of all three crops has kept prices relatively low compared to their 2022 peaks.
Coamo, a grain cooperative in Brazil, the largest soybean producer, said:
I’m looking forward to it
The 2026 harvest is expected to be the largest ever.
Agricultural consultancy Sovecon on Tuesday raised its forecast for Russian wheat exports in 2025/26 by 1.1 million tonnes to 45.7 million tonnes. Russia is the largest exporter of wheat.
