By Giulia Petroni

A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week of Dec. 8-12 by Dow Jones Newswires in Barcelona.

GRAINS & OILSEEDS: The broader economic outlook is optimistic ahead of Wednesday's monetary policy decision by the Federal Reserve. Traders are betting heavily on a quarter-point rate cut, though the focus will be on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks for cues about what comes next.

The December USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, though it is expected to be broadly uneventful since crop-yield updates don't come until January, according to Peak Trading Research. Meanwhile, the USDA and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, are still working through shutdown-related backlogs and will release delayed export sales and Commitment of Traders reports this week, analysts at the firm said.

The latest available position data, covering the week of Oct. 28, showed strong buying. That coincided with the week when China's state-owned grain buyer purchased U.S. soybean cargoes ahead of meetings between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, according to Peak Research.

December is generally a bullish month, with investors often putting money into commodities and inflation-protecting assets in preparation for the new year. Stock markets also usually get a boost from the holiday rally.

Looking at the weather, Brazil's newly planted soybeans are set to receive timely moisture from scattered storms this week. Argentina is expecting heavy rain in the north, which could slow planting, though the precipitation is generally welcome in what looks to be a weak La Niña year that carries a risk of dryness in Argentina and southern Brazil later in the season, analysts at Peak Trading said.

Chicago wheat futures slip 0.6% to $5.33 a bushel in European afternoon trade Monday, while corn was down 0.3% at $4.43 a bushel. Soybean prices fell 1.1% to $10.93 a bushel.

SOFT COMMODITIES: Coffee prices were down 2.1% to $3.67 a pound, pressured by expectations of a bumper Vietnamese crop and rising exports, even as rain and flooding slow the harvest.

"Arabica coffee has been one of the strongest performers amongst agri commodities this year, with it up more than 25%," ING analysts said. "This strength has come as a result of poor weather weighing on output from key producer, Brazil, while tight stocks and U.S. tariffs on Brazil have only provided further upside."

The supply outlook, however, is improving, with expectations for stronger arabica production in Brazil and a solid robusta crop in Vietnam, while potential tariff relief on U.S. coffee imports could boost supplies as buyers return to global markets to restock, according to the firm.

Sugar edged 0.2% higher to 15 cents a pound.

Meanwhile, cocoa was up 0.1% to $5,704 a ton on Monday. For the 2025-26 season, ING forecasts another surplus of around 175,000 tons, driven by stronger output from South America and a partial recovery in Ghana, while production in Ivory Coast is seen as broadly stable.

Demand has also helped swing the market back into surplus as last season's high prices curbed consumption, and buyers are likely to remain cautious. A surplus backdrop should keep prices trending lower in 2026, with rebuilding inventories helping to ease the extreme volatility of recent years, ING said.

Write to Giulia Petroni at giulia.petroni@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 08, 2025 12:26 ET (17:26 GMT)

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