01/04/2026 Sunday Market Preview

Grains are called to open on firmer footing as more volume returns, but strong conviction will be lacking in the lead up to the Jan. 12 crop report. In the Headlines Weekend headlines were dominated by the U.S. military’s capture of Venezuela’s contested president Nicolas Maduro. President Trump authorized the operation to extract Maduro and bring him to New York to stand trial on gang and drug trafficking charges. Trump was noted for saying that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela during a transition that would include the “very large U.S. oil companies” going in. To “get the oil flowing” again in Venezuela, as President Trump stated was his goal, would likely lean bearish the energy market over the long-run, although the uncertainty about what’s next can provide short-term support. Venezuela, with the world’s largest known oil reserves, has only been putting out about 3 million barrels per day versus the U.S. producing nearly 14 million barrels per day. Venezuela is one of the five original members of OPEC, which this weekend decided to hold its oil output targets unchanged, as expected. A new tax year is here to raise the question of how much farmer selling is set to commence….