AGSIST DAILY · ARCHIVE
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
↔ Mixed

BEANS LEAD; SAUDI PIPELINE CRISIS KEEPS CRUDE BID

THE ACTION

New-crop beans at a 52-week high: price the first 10% on any settle above $13.35. Do not wait.

Soybeans added 6¾ cents to $13.29 on strong demand and meal follow-through, while corn flatlined at $5.37 and cattle corrected across the board. WTI held $103.73 -- the Saudi pipeline shutdown, which began forcing spot crude sales outside the Strait of Hormuz last week, kept the bid alive despite a $1 pullback.

Quotes as of 6:09 AM CT Wed · change vs Tue close · Yahoo Finance, delayed, not CME settlements
THE NUMBER
4
tanker vessels transiting Hormuz Tuesday
Down from 7 the prior day, that number tells you the Hormuz premium in crude is not deflating; it is rebuilding. Diesel costs for fall fieldwork stay elevated.
DAILY QUOTE

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

Attributed to Henry Ford
↺ YESTERDAY'S CALL DIDN'T
Called feeder cattle up toward $345.0 ($343.7 when the call was made). It closed at $340.05.
Feeders fell to $340.05 today, well under $345; the supply-tightness bid is fading as the Aug 24 Douglas reopening approaches.
BEANS FIRM; CORN FLAT
  • Soybeans closed at $13.29, up 6¾ cents, with AgWeb citing strong demand and meal follow-through as the twin engines; soybean oil added 0.6% alongside.
  • Corn settled at $5.37, off a quarter-cent, effectively unchanged; no fund flow, no weather headline, no reason to move.
Beans are doing the work on their own; corn is along for the ride.
CRUDE HOLDS; CATTLE CORRECT
  • WTI eased to $103.73, off about $1, but the Saudi pipeline shutdown forcing spot sales outside Hormuz is the reason crude is at $103 in the first place, not a reason to sell it.
Crude's bid is structural; cattle's correction is a pause, not a breakdown.
TODAY'S WATCH LIST
  • Thursday 7:30 AM CTWeekly export sales: beans above 400K MT confirms demand is real, not position-squaring.
  • OngoingHormuz tanker count: below 5 vessels/day keeps crude above $102 and fall diesel costs elevated.
  • Tuesday Aug 24 windowDouglas AZ port reopening for Mexican feeders: feeder close below $338 signals the market is pricing returning supply.
OUTSIDE THE PITNot moving prices today, but worth knowing.
POLICY
Farm Groups Push Back Hard on 24-Hour Commodity Trading
Grain elevators and farm organizations are fighting proposals to move futures markets to round-the-clock trading, arguing it raises hedging costs and complexity for producers who cannot monitor screens overnight.
Written by Sigurd Lindquist, Certified Crop Adviser (CCA). Reply at sig@farmers1st.com. I read everything.
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CME locked closes; AgWeb; oilprice.com; beefmagazine.com; thefencepost.com; Reuters ship-tracking via oilprice.com · Compiled 6:11 AM CT Wed
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