By Kirk Maltais

--Corn for December delivery fell 0.6% to $3.64 3/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday after USDA data showed that harvesting in the Corn Belt has progressed at a rate comparable to previous years.

--Soybeans for November delivery fell 0.3% to $9.93 a bushel.

--Wheat for December delivery eased 0.1% lower to $5.49 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

On Track: Monday's crop progress report appeared to show that this year's harvest is in line with the normal pace. According to the USDA, 15% of the U.S. corn crop has been harvested, only one point off from the five-year average of 16%. Meanwhile, 20% of the soybean crop has been harvested, up from an average of 15%. Karl Setzer of AgriVisor said given current weather forecasts, the harvests should make sizable advances next week too.

Debate Night: Anticipation of how the first debate between President Trump and Joe Biden plays out caused jitters in grain markets. "With tonight's presidential debate in mind, U.S. benchmarks are peeling back from their overnight surge," said Bill Baruch of Blue Line Futures. "With price action hovering around unchanged, we too think it's smart to reduce risk ahead of tonight's highly anticipated showdown."

INSIGHT

Correction Extends: Soybean futures have fallen roughly 5% since closing at a two-year high on Sept. 18. The weakness seems to be a reaction to the disappearance of Chinese export demand in recent days. "Current supply and demand data suggests that the world is adequately supplied with the oilseed, providing little reason to ration demand with higher prices," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX. Still, soybean futures could recover under the right conditions. "What if USDA continues to lower its production estimate by a few more percentage points, and what if Chinese demand is stronger than currently believed as it rebuilds its hog herd, and what if La Nina gives Argentina a short crop?" Mr. Suderman said.

Absent Again: The USDA didn't report any new flash sales of grains to China again, instead reporting 100,000 metric tons of soybeans were sold to Mexico. Grains futures will need bullish news from another source to resume any upward momentum, since the large sales to China reported for most of September have paused. "A South American or Russian weather problem is needed to sustain the CBOT rally as China's recent foray of U.S. soybean purchases slows," AgResource said.

AHEAD

--The EIA releases its weekly update on ethanol production and inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

--The USDA releases its quarterly grain stocks report at noon ET Wednesday.

--The USDA releases its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 29, 2020 15:37 ET (19:37 GMT)

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