Commodity demand is starting to become more of a factor in price discovery. Given recent usage and trends, it appears as though yearly exports may be larger than suspected for both corn and soybeans. Domestic usage is also holding strong, even with margins not as strong as earlier in the marketing year, mainly on ethanol.

On the domestic side of commodity demand, ethanol is the leading point of interest. Ethanol manufacturing has been outpacing usage in several of the most recent weeks, and this has caused ethanol reserves to build beyond the level that the United States had a year ago. 

This is the result of a reduction in energy products as travel is down in the U.S. The end result is margin pressure on ethanol manufacturing, causing some plants to again slow or halt production. 

One bright spot for ethanol manufacturers is elevated demand for dried distiller grains (DDGs). DDG values have rallied considerably in recent weeks and are at a point where they are bringing profitability to...