--- title: Daily comment for Thursday, September 17 description: Another back and forth session for our markets, and one that did not end up far from where it started. image: https://blog.claytonpopecommodities.com/hubfs/CLAYTON%20POPE%20COMMODITIES%201-01.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://blog.claytonpopecommodities.com/newsletters/daily-comment-for-thursday-september-17#main-content) [![CLAYTON POPE COMMODITIES 3-3](https://blog.claytonpopecommodities.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CLAYTON%20POPE%20COMMODITIES%203-3.png?width=300&height=135&name=CLAYTON%20POPE%20COMMODITIES%203-3.png "CLAYTON POPE COMMODITIES 3-3")](https://www.claytonpopecommodities.com/) [All posts](https://blog.claytonpopecommodities.com/newsletters/all) October 13, 2026 # Daily comment for Thursday, September 17 ![Picture of Taylor Pope](https://blog.claytonpopecommodities.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1728420772119.jpg?width=50&name=1728420772119.jpg) By  [Taylor Pope](https://blog.claytonpopecommodities.com/newsletters/author/taylor-pope)  ·  4 minute read | CONTRACT | CLOSE | NET CHANGE | | --- | --- | --- | | Dec '26 Corn | 530 1/2 | -3 3/4 | | Mar '27 Corn | 544 1/2 | -4 1/4 | | Nov '26 Beans | 1319 3/4 | -3/4 | | Jan '27 Beans | 1337 | -1/4 | | Dec '26 Chi Wheat | 727 | -3 3/4 | | Dec '26 KC Wheat | 794 1/2 | -5 | | Dec '26 Cotton | 82.25 | -2.11 | | Crude Oil (spot futures) | 101.77 | -.63 | | US Dollar Index (spot futures) | 101.74 | -.08 | | Dow Jones (spot futures) | 52,255 | +340 | ## Daily Glance Another back and forth session for our markets, and one that did not end up far from where it started. Corn and beans were firm overnight and gave all of it back through the morning, corn dropping better than nine cents off its overnight high before it found any footing, and both worked their way back up through the middle of the day. ### Want the rest of today's comment? Leave your name and email to read the full daily market comment, including technicals, weather and trade implications. Wheat did the most traveling of the three, down as much as 14 cents at its worst before climbing back better than ten cents off that low. Cotton was the weak spot on the board, giving back better than two dollars. Meal was the exception and it keeps exploding, taking out its contract high overnight and trading above 370 dollars a ton for the first time in several years, filling a chart gap left back in July of 2024 along the way. We don't see a major fundamental reason behind it outside of some unwinding of the oilshare trade, with bean oil going the other direction. Outside markets carried a better tone than yesterday. Equities spent the day climbing back from the selloff that followed the Fed, with the Dow adding better than 300 points, while crude traded under 100 dollars for a stretch overnight before firming back up. The dollar finished little changed. ## Key Points/Developments **Technicals:** Dec corn traded up to 536 3/4 overnight, still short of the 540 resistance area, before sellers took it all the way back to 527 and through Wednesday's low in the process. That held the 525 support area, with 518 under it and the 50 day average in the low 490s. Resistance is unchanged at the 540 area, then Friday's high near 545 and the contract high just under 550. Nov beans got as high as 1331 3/4, a second straight session stalling just under the 1335 resistance area, then sold back to 1312. That is a shade under Wednesday's low but it still held the 1310 support area, with the 1293 area the key support beneath it, then the 20 day average in the low 1280s and 1250. **Spreads:** The Dec/Mar corn spread narrowed a half cent to 14 cents. The Nov/Jan bean spread widened another half cent to 17 1/4, a new widest for the move again. **Weather:** TStorm made no changes again today, leaving corn, soybeans, and winter wheat all at neutral for a third straight report. TStorm closing comments: Widespread rain and thunderstorms cover the Plains and the northern half to two thirds of the Corn Belt over the next five to seven days, while harvest in the mid South keeps moving along without rain problems. A drier stretch follows next week, with the exception of a significant system for the southwest Plains, and a wide area runs near to warmer than normal into October. TStorm's monthly long range update also came out today, and the piece of it that matters right now is that it does not expect unusually wet harvest conditions for corn or soybeans later this month, or unusual weather in October either. There has been plenty of talk of a wet and expensive harvest, and the people we trust most on weather are not buying it. In Brazil, another round of rain Friday and Saturday, again around Monday and again around the 27th keeps the south unusually wet, with wheat and first corn there staying wet into October. ## Markets/Trading Implications Corn and beans are both still stuck in the ranges that have held them for several weeks now, and our guess is it takes a news item to get either one out. Even then, we'd have to think a surge to new highs gets faded, and a break to new lows the same way, at least until there is better information around China's real intentions and this yield. Neither side has a whole lot to work with in the meantime. The funds still own a big long, but at these levels we'd guess a fair amount of that length has already been moved along to weaker hands. That cuts both ways, and it is part of why breaks down here keep finding buyers while rallies have a hard time going anywhere. The next real shot at information is this weekend, with initial meetings between US and Chinese officials set for the next couple of days. Anything concrete Sunday or Monday would get the trade its answer ahead of the 24th, though admittedly a good deal of optimism is in the price already. The piece worth watching there is the talk of a cut to China's additional tariffs. It keeps getting treated as a bean story, but the original discussions covered more than beans, and a cut would open the door to corn and wheat business that nobody has in their numbers. On corn, the early yields coming out of Illinois, Indiana and Missouri keep running under last year, enough that another cut in October wouldn't surprise us. That is the bulls' side of it. The other side is the bushels showing up every week with harvest rolling, and neither one has won the argument yet. Beans have the better demand story of the two, with commitments well ahead of last year and the crush paying up for bushels. It hasn't been enough to get them through the top of the range, and until something new shows up, we'd have to think that stays the case. Call anytime. ## Other Notes - Weekly export sales for the week ending September 10 came in at 12.0 million bushels of wheat, 40.4 million of corn and 62.5 million of soybeans. For the crop year to date, beans stand at 758 million bushels, up 383 million from a year ago, while corn is 685 million, down 253, and wheat 335 million, down 146. - The wet start to the soybean harvest has firmed up cash markets, with central Illinois beans bid 30 over November and corn 20 over. ## Static Notes - Commitment of Traders data covering positions through Tuesday, September 8, showed funds still adding aggressively to their soybean longs. Corn's net long dipped a slight 6k contracts, leaving them net long a still large 425k contracts. Soybeans' net long grew by 25k to a near record net long of 266k, while wheat net longs declined by 10k contracts, leaving them net long 4k. - Prices during the corresponding week saw December corn drop 13 cents, November beans lost 2 cents, and December Chicago wheat lost 36 cents. In the seven trading days since this report, corn lost 3 cents, soybeans gained 3 1/2 cents, and Chicago wheat lost 20 cents. A fresh report covering positions through September 15 should be out tomorrow afternoon. Have a nice evening! Clayton and Taylor --- **RISK DISCLAIMER:** Trading in futures products entails significant risks of loss which must be understood prior to trading and may not be appropriate for all investors. Please contact your account representative for more information on these risks. Past performance of actual trades or strategies cited herein is not necessarily indicative of future performance. 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Please contact your account representative for more information on these risks. Past performance of actual trades or strategies cited herein is not necessarily indicative of future performance. 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