Agricultural futures settled slightly lower. Brent crude futures fell 6 per cent.

• Chicago wheat December contract down US5cents per bushel to 603.75c;
• Kansas wheat December contract down 1.25c/bu to 542c;
• Minneapolis wheat December contract up 0.25c/bu to 552.25c;
• MATIF wheat December contract up €1/t to €205;
• Corn December contract down 3c/bu to 398.5c;
• Soybeans January contract down 4.25c/bu to 1050.5c;
• Winnipeg canola January up C$3.60/t to $539.2;
• MATIF rapeseed February contract down €1.50/t to €383;
• Brent crude December contract down US$2.36 per barrel to $37.65;
• Dow Jones index up 139 points to 26,659;
• AUD weaker at $0.704;
• CAD weaker at $1.332;
• EUR weaker at $1.168.

US daylight saving time will end this Sunday, which will shift CBOT hours relatively one hour later in Australia

International

• Markets were a little more tame today after yesterday’s sell off, however concern still remains with COVID lockdowns picking up and the US election next week.
• Fund liquidation dominated early trade amid another round of weakness in global energy markets. Rain in the US Plains and Russia weighed on wheat markets early. Wheat closed lower for the fourth day in a row.
• Export sales of both US corn and wheat exceeded expectations.  Sales of wheat totalled 743,000t for the week ending 22 October, while sales of corn, against 1-1.5Mt forecast, totalled 2.24 million tonnes (Mt). ) of which 760,000t was for unknown destinations. Corn exports were well up on the prior 4-week average.  Soybean sales, at 1.62Mt were down 35pc from the prior 4-week average. They were within trader expectations as sales to China have dropped off in recent weeks.
• 1.4Mt of US corn was flashed today for sale to Mexico, lower than recent years, but within expectations at current price levels.
• The corn and ethanol industry remains nervous in the lead up to the election.  Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden has hinted that he may be willing to shut down the industry again as occurred in the spring, whereas Trump has suggested he will not be shutting industries down.
• Canola markets closed lower in the spot Nov contract, but finished $3-5 higher in deferred months.  Solid demand from both exporters and domestic crushers contributed to the firmer tone as did the recent weakness in the Canadian dollar.  Losses in CBOT soyoil, tempered the upside.
• Initial weekly US jobless claims were 751,000 for the week ending 24 October, down 40,000 from the previous week and lower than the 778,000 expected. It was the lowest initial claims total since the week of March 14, when it was 282,000.
• CFTC will update its Commitment of Traders report tomorrow.

Australia

• Cash boards were mixed again, with wheat and barley bids firmer by $1-2/t, while new crop canola market was off $8-10/t along the east coast on contract grower bids
• Yesterday rain pushed through most of South Australia with showers hitting the cropping regions and then pushing into Victoria, later wheat crops will benefit from this late rain and it will help boost yield
• Liquidity on new crop continues to flow in dribs and drabs, weather and quality are now a focus for most leading up to the brunt of harvest
• WA wheat belt set to receive showers on the 8-day forecast, this will cause some harvest delays.