There's been a change of thinking in the marketplace regarding last week's meeting between US and Chinese trade officials in Washington, DC. Traders initially deemed the early departure back home of China's trade delegation as a sign the talks did not go well. The Chinese were scheduled to visit US farms, but the visits were abruptly cancelled. However, language coming from both sides since last Friday has been very upbeat and the trade negotiations are set to continue. The marketplace is now reading this situation as a positive for an eventual US-China trade agreement.

Weekly USDA crop progress reports out Monday afternoon showed the corn condition rating at 57 percent good to excellent. Corn harvest progress was at 7 percent complete. The soybean condition rating was 54 percent good to excellent. US spring wheat harvest was at 87 percent complete and winter wheat planting at 22 percent complete.

Recent price action and the technical charts still suggest "harvest lows" are in place for grain futures prices.

Weather in the US Corn Belt has been too wet in many areas and too dry in a few areas, which is prompting some concerns about crop quality as harvest begins. The northern US plains and the Canadian prairies have also been too wet for ideal crop conditions.

This week the harvesting pace for US soybeans and corn will pick up significantly.