Corn slips 3¾¢ to $4.74¼; crude gains 3.5% to $101
By Sigurd Lindquist, CCA · Published
Corn closed Friday at $4.74¼, down 3¾ cents, while soybeans held at $12.61¼ and wheat lost 9½ cents. Crude was the big mover, up 3.5% to $101.41 as Iran war supply worries carry into 2027.
Only on AGSIST
On Friday, Oct 16, 1,491 of the 1,524 elevators AGSIST reads posted a lower cash corn bid than Thursday, 25 a higher one; 130 changed their basis, 56 weaker and 74 stronger.
8 unchanged; median change 5¢ lower. Biggest state move: Iowa, 5¢ lower (398 elevators). 3 outliers left out.
On Friday, Oct 16, 1,266 of the 1,326 elevators AGSIST reads posted a lower cash soybean bid than Thursday, 49 a higher one; 172 changed their basis, 112 weaker and 60 stronger.
11 unchanged; median change 2¢ lower. Biggest state move: Iowa, 2¢ lower (362 elevators).
Corn basis on Oct 18 ran from 11¢ over December futures in Colorado to 80¢ under in North Dakota and South Dakota, state medians of the elevators AGSIST read at 9:22 a.m. CT.
Elevators behind each median: Colorado 26, North Dakota 44, South Dakota 89. 12 states with 15 or more.
Counted by code from the elevator boards AGSIST reads itself, not by the writer of this briefing. A day's change is each board's last posted bid against its own on the trading day before, same delivery period. Quote it with the date and a link to agsist.com/daily/2026-10-18. How this briefing is made · Monthly: AGSIST Cash Bid Index
Corn harvest price so far: $4.91 vs $4.62 projected (+6.3%), 12 of 22 trading days in.
Soybeans harvest price so far: $12.83 vs $11.09 projected (+15.7%), 12 of 22 trading days in.
Ours: the average of the daily CBOT settles through Oct 16, figured the way USDA RMA does. Window and projected price: USDA RMA, as of Oct 17. Oct 1-31 window, most states. Harvest price tracker →
- Corn eased 3¾ cents and soybeans 1¾ cents. Neither move is large.
- Harvest supply is the main weight. Demand signals after the WASDE are mixed.
- Live cattle rose 0.7% to $227.55. Feeders added 0.1%.
- The rally leans on hopes for firmer cash trade next week. Packing capacity is still part of the price story.
- Monday, Oct 19, 3:00 p.m. CTCrop Progress. If harvest is behind pace, wet weather is holding up combines.
- Thursday, Oct 22, 7:30 a.m. CTExport sales. Weak corn or bean totals would add to harvest pressure.
- Next week's cash tradeCash cattle firm above Friday's (Oct 23) $227.55 close supports the rally; steady or lower fades it.