Corn Market - The corn market is experiencing a slight decline, with the March issue (ZCH26) showing a trading range of 1.75 cents and a decrease of 1.5 cents on low trade volume of fewer than 10,000 contracts [1] - The upcoming weekly export sales and shipments update is anticipated, with recent data indicating a slowdown in the pace of total marketing year shipments [1] - The Commitments of Traders report shows a noncommercial net-long futures position of 14,660 contracts as of December 16, indicating an increase in net-long positions [1] Metals Sector - The metals sector has seen significant volatility, with March silver (SIH26) down $6.58 (8.4%), February gold (GCG26) down $67 (1.5%), and March copper (HGH26) down 12.1 cents (2.1%) [2] - March palladium (PAH26) and February platinum (PLG26) also reported losses of $110.60 (6.4%) and $218.20 (9.7%) respectively [2] - Factors contributing to the decline include potential CME margin hikes, market saturation, geopolitical easing, and profit-taking after a strong performance in late 2025 [2] Soybean Market - The soybean market is also down, with the March issue (ZSH26) hitting a low of $10.5725, matching its previous 4-week low, indicating a potentially bearish trend [3] - The National Soybean Index is calculated at $9.8325, showing a slight decrease, but is expected to remain above the previous 5-year end of December low of $9.4950 [3] - The focus is on total sales to China as Brazil's harvest approaches, with the March-May spread closing at 50% of the calculated full commercial carry [3] Wheat Market - The wheat sub-sector is down across the board, with March SRW (ZWH26) down 2.0 cents and March HRW (KEH26) down 4.25 cents on low trade volumes [4] - Total marketing year shipments for all wheat are projected at 966 million bushels, a 25% increase from last year's 776 million bushels [4] - Despite the increase in shipments, US fundamentals remain bearish, with National Cash Indexes for SRW, HRW, and HRS still below previous 5-year end of December low prices [5]