GCC Weekly Market Commentary > 2026 > August 2026 > Weekly Market Update 8-27-2026

Weekly Market Update 8/27/2026

Aug 27, 2026

Here is your weekly market update from the Garden City Co-op Grain Origination Team.

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Market News

MARKET UPDATE: Yesterday’s gains seen in the corn market were put on hold today amid a round of technical selling and profit-taking. September futures fell 3 ¾-cents to $5.1025 and December futures were down 3-cents to $5.3350. It seems the bulls are here to stay, as much of the focus for the foreseeable future will rely heavily on the next supply and demand updates in mid-September. A round of light technical buying gave soybeans a small boost today with September futures trading up 2 ¼-cents to $12.5650 and November futures traded 2-cents higher, closing the session at $12.68. Winter wheat continues on a rampage after another wave of technical buying – September futures up 11 ½-cents, closing at $8.0350. Nearby wheat futures have not seen values over $8.00 since June 2023, as tensions in Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate and export shipping capability concerns grow.

CROP PROGRESS: As fall harvest knocks on the door, Kansas crop conditions seem to be a little over-stated for our part of the state. Kansas corn came in at 42% good to excellent this week, matching last week’s average. Growth continues to chug a long as 87% has reached the dough stage, 55% dented, and 16% reaching maturity. Soybean conditions have decreased 4% to just half of the crop rated good to excellent. 78% of Kansas has begun setting pods and just 2% has started dropping leaves, each of these in line with last year and the 5 year average. Milo conditions are actually up 1% to 28% good to excellent across the state, however, the percent of the crop that is headed is significantly lower than last year (83%) and the 5 year average (81%) at 72% headed. 28% of milo is coloring and 3% has reached maturity.

EXPORT INSPECTIONS: Corn inspections have recently come in below even the lowest estimates, marking the lowest weekly corn inspections reported since late January. Regardless of the one-week slowdown, cumulative corn inspections of 3.242 billion bushels remain comfortably ahead of the seasonal pace needed to surpass USDA’s current 3.400-billion-bushel export target after uninspected shipments are included, while cumulative sales as of last Thursday’s report already sit 54 million bushels above said target. Conversely, weekly soybean export inspections rose to a six-week high at 15.5 million bushels, near the top end of the expected range, with Egypt being the featured destination. Even more impressive, weekly shipments were this strong without China. On a cumulative basis, soybean inspections have reached 1.488 billion bushels, also on track to surpass USDA’s current 1.520-billion-bushel export target. Weekly wheat inspections also came in toward the top end of their expected range at 15.6 million bushels, with a handful of Asian nations making up the bulk of the total (Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Bangladesh). The wheat complex strength came mainly from white wheat shipments, which came in at 9.3 million bushels, the highest weekly total since last September. Notably, this was the same week last year that we saw the biggest white wheat inspections of the 2025/26 marketing year.

EXPORT SALES: Weekly new crop soybean export sales reached 91.1 million bushels, the largest in two years, driven primarily by China (40.45 million bushels) and unknown destinations (38.43 million). Cumulative new crop soybean sales now total 526.7 million bushels, double last year’s figures and at a four-year high. While the U.S. soybean crush demand for 2026/27 is projected at 2.78 billion bushels, 568 million more than four years ago, there is less excess supply for exports. The USDA predicts a record-large U.S. soybean crop, but any reductions in this expectation could tighten the market further, especially if China continues its current purchasing pace. Weekly wheat sales reached a nine-week high of 14.8 million bushels, driven by strong white wheat sales to Southeast Asia. However, cumulative U.S. wheat export sales for the 2026/27 marketing year are the slowest in three years, largely due to a small crop. Disruptions to Black Sea shipments could increase demand for U.S. wheat. Corn sales were disappointing, with a net of 1.2 million bushels of old crop and 42 million bushels of new crop. An upward revision of the USDA’s export target for corn is expected in the upcoming September WASDE report. New crop sales warrant attention, especially given potential restrictions on Ukrainian exports and Brazil's focus on domestic corn use for ethanol. Milo Sales has secured 0.6 million bushels of OC, plus 0.4 million bushels for new-crop contracts, with sales to Japan, Mexico, and China.

WEATHER: Sunny and a little cooler today with a high of only 90°F and a SSE wind 5 – 9 mph. Tomorrow will be sunny again with a high of 94°F and windy, with gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon. Saturday and Sunday are back in the triple digits with highs near 101°F and windy again Saturday. Sunday night brings a 30% chance of thunderstorms before 1am. Next week, highs are in the upper 90s with slight chances of thunderstorms both Monday and Tuesday nights.