Corn extends its crop-tour rally, soybean oil rebounds from Monday's rout, and gold holds near record highs as Iran-US thaw pressures crude.
Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
A green day for the grain complex: corn, beans, meal, oil, three of four wheat boards and canola all firmed, while crude took the board's biggest hit as easing Iran tensions pulled the risk premium out of oil.
The Board
Grains & Oilseeds
🌽 Corn · Dec: 523.50 · +8.00 · +1.55% 🟢⬆️
🫘 Beans · Nov: 1237.75 · +13.50 · +1.10% 🟢⬆️
🥣 Meal · Dec: 329.20 · +0.60 · +0.18% 🟢⬆️
🧴 Oil · Dec: 67.78 · +0.47 · +0.70% 🟢⬆️
🌾 SRW · Dec: 703.25 · +3.75 · +0.54% 🟢⬆️
🌾 HRW · Dec: 770.75 · +3.50 · +0.46% 🟢⬆️
🌾 HRS · Dec: 720.00 · −1.25 · −0.17% 🔴⬇️
🌰 Oats · Dec: 343.25 · +1.00 · +0.29% 🟢⬆️
Prairie Crops
🌱 Canola · Nov: C$789.70 · +C$19.10 · +2.48% 🟢⬆️
🐮 Barley · cash †: C$310s/tonne delivered S. Alberta · steady to firm ➖
Energy
🛢️ WTI · Oct: 82.36 · −2.65 · −3.12% 🔴⬇️
🔥 NatGas · Oct: 2.821 · −0.014 · −0.49% 🔴⬇️
Metals
🥇 Gold · Dec: 4,694.50 · −3.30 · −0.07% 🔴⬇️
🥈 Silver · Sep: 68.682 · +0.088 · +0.13% 🟢⬆️
The Read
🌽 Corn: 523.50, +8.00 (+1.55%) 🟢⬆️ $CORN ( ▲ 1.93% )
The Pro Farmer Crop Tour's final national yield read landed at 173.2 bu/acre, well under USDA's 180.7 bu/acre August call, and the number kept working through the market a second session.
Europe piled on: MARS cut EU corn yield expectations 5% to 6.61 t/ha, about 7% below the five-year average, tightening the global feed-grain picture beyond just the U.S. crop.
So what: a smaller U.S. crop plus a smaller European one is a two-front tightening story for anyone buying corn for a ration or holding new-crop bushels for basis.
Watch: whether USDA's September WASDE moves toward the tour number or holds closer to its August estimate.
🫘 Soybeans: 1237.75, +13.50 (+1.10%) 🟢⬆️ $SOYB ( ▲ 1.31% )
Beans reversed Monday's crush-driven slide as soybean oil found its footing, easing the drag on crush math (the margin a processor earns turning beans into meal and oil).
The Pro Farmer yield call of 53.3 bu/acre and continued Chinese new-crop buying remain the underlying bull case; today just let the tape catch up to it.
So what: the fundamentals didn't change over the weekend, today's bounce is more about oil stopping its bleeding than any new demand news.
Watch: Thursday's export sales report for whether the China pace holds.
🥣 Soybean Meal: 329.20, +0.60 (+0.18%) 🟢⬆️
Meal ground higher alongside oil today rather than carrying the crush solo like it did Monday, a sign the complex is trading together again.
Protein-feed demand into livestock rations stayed steady through the move.
So what: a quieter day here means ration costs aren't the story right now, the oil side is doing the talking.
Watch: hog and cattle feeding margins for any shift in protein demand.
🧴 Soybean Oil: 67.78, +0.47 (+0.70%) 🟢⬆️
A partial bounce back after Monday's 3.26% rout on biofuel-policy jitters, even as crude fell another 3% today, a rare break in the two markets' usual tight leash.
The divergence suggests some of Monday's selling was overdone rather than the start of a new trend.
So what: a steadier oil market is one less variable pulling on board crush margins after a volatile session.
Watch: any EPA signal on the finalized 2026-27 biofuel blending mandate.