Chicago, November 2025 – Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures climbed to their highest levels since early June on Friday, driven by robust U.S. export demand, while soybean prices also saw gains.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that exporters sold 273,988 metric tons of corn to undisclosed buyers for the 2025-26 marketing year, alongside 312,000 tons of soybeans to China for the same period. Earlier weekly USDA reports indicated U.S. corn export sales of 2.8 million tons for 2025-26 and 571,500 tons for 2026-27, data delayed due to the federal government’s record-long shutdown. Analysts had forecast corn sales of 1.4–2.5 million tons for 2025-26 and 500,000–1 million tons for 2026-27, making the reported volumes exceed expectations.

“It's old data. However, it revealed some very impressive corn sales during the week,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX. Market participants now await the USDA’s report for the week ending October 23.

Price Movements:

• Corn (most-active CBOT futures) rose 1 cent to $4.46¼ per bushel, earlier reaching $4.48½, a peak since June 2.
• Soybeans advanced 2 cents to $11.35½ per bushel.
• Wheat slipped 2 cents to $5.38½ per bushel.

Traders are closely watching China’s soybean demand following a late-October trade truce with the U.S. The Asian giant had previously avoided U.S. soy due to a trade dispute, turning to South American supplies instead. Chinese authorities recently banned five Brazilian soy exporters, heightening market attention on potential shifts in global trade flows.

Trading on Friday will close early at 12:05 p.m. CST (1805 GMT) as market participants continue monitoring U.S. and Chinese export developments.