Chicago | Reuters – Chicago soybean futures dropped on Wednesday but logged their first annual gain in three years, supported by China’s return to the U.S. market following a late-October trade truce, although ample global supplies capped the advance.
Wheat and corn futures had annual declines, pressured by abundant supplies.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 3.66 per cent in 2025. Wheat was down 8.07 per cent for the year, while corn was down 3.98 per cent.
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For the day, most-active CBOT soybeans Sv1 settled down 14-3/4 cents at $10.47-1/2 a bushel. Corn Cv1 ended down 1/4 cent at $4.40-1/4 a bushel.
Most-active wheat Wv1 finished 3-3/4 cents lower at $5.07 a bushel.
Despite the trade truce with China, “the demand side of the equation continues to be a stumbling block for soybeans, and we saw that with the weekly export sales once again today,” said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday reported net export sales of U.S. 2025/26 soybeans in the week ended December 18 at 987,100 metric tons, below a range of trade expectations for 1.4 million to 2.4 million tons.
“Corn remains stellar in terms of export demand,” Zuzolo said.
The USDA reported net export sales of U.S. 2025/26 corn in the week ended December 18 at 2.2 million metric tons, topping a range of trade expectations for 1 million to 2 million tons.
Wheat futures were pressured by global oversupply, said Zuzolo, shrugging off any support from escalation in the Russia-Ukraine war and lack of progress on peace talks.
Ukrainian drones on Wednesday damaged Russian energy infrastructure and disrupted Kazakhstan’s oil exports. Ukraine is among the world’s largest exporters of wheat and corn.
Argentina’s 2025/26 wheat harvest is forecast to hit a record 27.8 million tons, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Tuesday. The current record stands at 22.4 million tons, reached four years ago.
CBOT grain markets will be closed on Thursday for the New Year’s holiday.
-Additional reporting by Ella Cao, Daphne Zhang and Lewis Jackson in Beijing and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.
