CHICAGO – U.S. wheat and soybean futures fell on Friday, retreating from multi-month highs hit a day earlier as traders took profits and secured positions ahead of the long U.S. holiday and China’s Lunar New Year holiday, analysts said.
News that India would allow wheat exports added pressure, a reminder that global wheat supplies are plentiful. Corn futures rose slightly.
Chicago Commodity Exchange Commission March wheat futures peaked Thursday at $5.53-1/2, the highest since Nov. 20, before settling at 3-3/4 cents at $5.48-3/4 per bushel.
CBOT March soybeans fell 4-1/4 cents to close at $11.33 per bushel, and March corn rose 1/2 cent to settle at $4.31-3/4 per bushel.
Wheat fell after two sessions of strong gains, which analysts attributed to short covering. Open interest in CBOT wheat futures fell on Wednesday and Thursday as prices rose, according to CBOT data, showing signs that traders were unwinding short positions. Volume was high during the two-day rally, with more than 300,000 CBOT wheat contracts traded each day.
Expectations of a large global wheat harvest in 2026 weighed on prices on Friday. Consultancy firm IKAR has raised its forecast for the 2026 wheat harvest in Russia, the world’s largest exporter, to 91 million tonnes from 88 million tonnes.
Winter crop ratings in France, the European Union’s biggest producer, hit the highest in three years, data from farm office France Agrimar showed.
The Indian government has allowed the export of 2.5 million tonnes of wheat as the world’s second-largest producer seeks to support local producers amid protests over a trade deal between New Delhi and Washington.
Hightower Reports analyst Randy Place said this week’s short covering will bring “these bearish global supply fundamentals back to the forefront.”
A day after the March CBOT soybean contract hit its highest price since early December, soybeans fell on pre-weekend profit taking. The arrival of a bumper crop in Brazil also fixed prices.
Soybean prices rose after US President Donald Trump said last week that China was raising its target for US soybean purchases, and the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could extend the two countries’ trade ceasefire by up to a year.
Corn futures rose modestly, supported by a strong U.S. export pace and concerns about China’s grain quality, Place said.
Chinese buyers have stepped up purchases of feed grains in recent months, snapping up large quantities of Australian barley and U.S. sorghum after rains damaged the country’s corn crop, trade sources said.
