By Kirk Maltais
--Corn for May delivery rose 1.8% to $4.60 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday, following crude oil futures higher as the war in Iran continues to unfold.
--Soybeans for May delivery rose 1% to $12.14 1/4 a bushel.
--Wheat for May delivery rose 0.9% to $5.96 1/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Back to the Front: Higher oil prices pulled grain futures higher as traders reacted to the latest developments in the war with Iran. The use of corn and soybeans as feedstock for various renewable fuels has market participants linking prices for agriculture and energy together, pushing both higher in Wednesday trading. Little else is expected to break through the noise until the end of the month, said Brian Pullam of Linn & Associates. "All the happenings coming about from the escalating conflict in the Mideast are front and center and will probably continue that way until we get closer towards...the prospective planting and quarterly stocks reports," Pullam said.
Pushing Ahead: Grain traders set aside an uneventful WASDE report in favor of headlines out of the Middle East, Total Farm Marketing's Naomi Blohm said in a note. "The conflict with Iran is this year's 'black swan,'" Blohm said. The USDA made essentially no changes to its domestic crop outlook in this month's report.
Rumor Mill: Speculation continues to swirl this week that the EPA is about to release its new rules covering renewable fuel blending operations, potentially relocating 70% of the blending that was granted a small-refinery exemption to large refineries. Nothing has been confirmed, but it was a cause for excitement in soybeans. If this does happen, court challenges are likely to come from oil refiners who feel like they are being forced into producing unprofitable renewable fuels. "[We] doubt that Big Oil will blend more vegoil into bio or renewable diesel during the legal challenges, which could take years to resolve," AgResource said in a note.
INSIGHT
Looking for Help: The group Farm Action, which describes itself as "a nonpartisan agricultural watchdog led by farmers," said that it has sent a letter to President Trump requesting he act to put an end to the skyrocketing fertilizer prices seen since the war with Iran began. The letter, dated Wednesday, is also addressed to the Federal Trade Commission, the departments of Agriculture and Justice, and the National Economic Council. Farm Action wants the federal government to take steps to dissuade companies from price-gouging while the war affects supplies of fertilizer. The shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz is preventing cargo vessels from bringing shipments of fertilizer into the U.S.
Better Prospects: Average daily ethanol production in the U.S. jumped from the prior week, the EIA said Wednesday. For the week-ended March 6, production was 1.126 million barrels a day. That's up 31,000 barrels per day from the prior week, and lands on the high-end of forecasts by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones. Total ethanol inventories were 25.58 million barrels, below what surveyed analysts anticipated. Higher corn prices have helped bolster the margin for crushing corn for ethanol usage, with the profit near 20 cents a gallon for refiners right now, according to data from StoneX.
AHEAD
--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.
--The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.
--The USDA will release its weekly Grain Export Inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-11-26 1555ET
