U.S. grain markets opened October with a notable split between prices and export demand. December corn futures gained 2.5 cents to $5.0325 per bushel as of 9 a.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 1, while November soybeans slipped 5 cents to $12.88. Wheat futures also traded higher across Chicago, Kansas City and Minneapolis. The moves came as USDA released its Weekly Export Sales report for the week ended Sept. 24, providing farmers and grain traders with fresh evidence of how overseas demand is developing early in the 2026/27 marketing year.

The corn market received limited support from the latest export figures. USDA reported 2026/27 net corn sales of 536,000 metric tons, a result near the low end of trade expectations cited by The Brock Report. More importantly, cumulative export commitments remained well behind last season. Data presented with the report showed U.S. corn commitments running 330 million bushels, or 31%, below a year earlier. They were also 19 million bushels, or 3%, below the five-year average, highlighting the demand challenge facing the market as the U.S. harvest moves forward.

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Soybean exports stand out as wheat commitments also trail

Soybeans offered a sharply different demand picture. Weekly net sales for the 2026/27 marketing year reached 1.0335 million metric tons, exceeding the 850,000-to-1-million-ton range of trade expectations cited in the report. Cumulative U.S. soybean export commitments were 385 million bushels, or 89%, above the previous year and 82 million bushels, or 11%, ahead of the five-year average. Those figures make soybeans the clear exception among the three major crops covered by the export data, even as November soybean futures traded lower during the morning session.

Wheat exports remained comparatively soft. Net sales totaled 289,300 metric tons, up 5% from the four-week average but near the lower end of trade expectations ranging from 250,000 to 450,000 tons. Cumulative U.S. wheat export commitments were 158 million bushels, or 31%, below the previous year and 59 million bushels, or 14%, below the five-year average. Despite those figures, wheat futures advanced, with December CBOT wheat at $6.8125 per bushel, Kansas City wheat at $7.39 and Minneapolis wheat at $6.9725.

The broader commodity complex was also mixed. November feeder cattle fell 68 cents to $333.63 per hundredweight, December live cattle declined 90 cents to $221.80, and December lean hogs dropped $1.15 to $68.28. November crude oil, meanwhile, gained 97 cents to $91.39 per barrel. For U.S. agriculture, the export figures remain the central signal: soybean commitments are running well ahead of historical comparisons, while corn and wheat continue to face a slower export pace, a divergence that could remain important for commodity prices, farm marketing decisions and grain movement through the U.S. supply chain.