Crude down 3% to $98.41 on Trump-Putin diesel deal; grains flat
Published
Crude fell about $3 overnight to **$98.41** on word of a US-Russia deal that could add diesel supply. Corn at **$4.73** and beans at **$12.61** barely noticed. For harvest fuel bills, that is the first bit of relief in a while, though crude is still close to $100.
Only on AGSIST
On Friday, Oct 16, 1,596 of the 1,629 elevators AGSIST reads posted a lower cash corn bid than Thursday, 25 a higher one; 132 changed their basis, 57 weaker and 75 stronger.
8 unchanged; median change 5¢ lower. Biggest state move: Iowa, 5¢ lower (409 elevators). 3 outliers left out.
On Friday, Oct 16, 1,369 of the 1,429 elevators AGSIST reads posted a lower cash soybean bid than Thursday, 49 a higher one; 174 changed their basis, 114 weaker and 60 stronger.
11 unchanged; median change 2¢ lower. Biggest state move: Iowa, 2¢ lower (373 elevators).
Corn basis on Oct 19 ran from 55¢ over December futures in Texas to 80¢ under in North Dakota and South Dakota, state medians of the elevators AGSIST read at 5:37 a.m. CT.
Elevators behind each median: Texas 17, North Dakota 45, South Dakota 98. 15 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/2026-10-19. 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 18. Oct 1-31 window, most states. Harvest price tracker →
- WTI is at $98.41 overnight, down 3.0%, after the Trump-Putin diesel agreement raised hopes for more supply.
- The dip starts from a high level, and record freight costs are already forcing oil sellers to cut prices.
- Corn is at $4.73 overnight, down 1¼ cents, and beans are at $12.61, down a quarter of a cent.
- Feedstuffs says grains are still struggling for momentum after the WASDE, with harvest pressure feeding the bears and demand signals mixed.
- Live cattle settled Friday at $227.55, up 0.7%, and feeders settled at $343.625, up 0.1%.
- Feeders say prices have dropped since packing plant closures, so cash trade is the thing to watch.
- Today 3:00 p.m. CTCrop Progress. Harvest pace for corn and soybeans after the recent rain delays.
- OngoingCrude back above $101 would say the diesel deal is not enough to ease supply worries.
- OngoingCorn under $4.70 would show harvest pressure is still winning.