By Kirk Maltais
--Corn for December delivery fell 1.6%, to $5.29 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, with volumes light as traders prepared for the USDA's reports due out tomorrow.
--Wheat for September delivery fell 0.2%, to $6.68 3/4 a bushel.
--Soybeans for November delivery fell 0.1%, to $12.69 1/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Positioning Prevails: Traders spent their day getting their positions in order ahead of tomorrow's acreage and grain stocks reports from the USDA, this after weather forecasts turned wetter for the U.S. Corn Belt. "The morning weather forecast didn't offer too much in the way of any major changes," said Terry Reilly of Futures International in a note. Traders have been liquidating positions as the longer-term weather forecasts show increased rainfall in growing areas experiencing drought.
Light Scale: Traders kept their activity light, unwilling to take any big chances ahead of tomorrow's USDA reports. "Volume has been mediocre," said AgResource in a note. "Stock and seedings data drives price action on Friday/Monday, but thereafter it's all about the fine-tuning of coming Midwest precipitation."
No Spark: Export sales of U.S. grains landed on the low side of analyst forecasts, thereby failing to reverse the downward trend of recent sessions. In its latest report, the USDA said wheat sales for the week ended June 22 totaled 155,200 metric tons in the 2023/24 marketing year, while corn sales added up to 263,900 tons across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 marketing years and soybeans totaled 244,400 tons across both marketing years.
INSIGHT
Increasingly Dry: In the past week, drought conditions have grown slightly worse in the eastern Corn Belt, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. The latest map shows conditions in Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri have become drier, although conditions across the Corn Belt as a whole have stayed widely unchanged. The update comes as rainfall passes through this week, with the 10-day forecast showing high amounts of rainfall in some otherwise-parched regions, which is expected to ease drought worries and eliminate moisture deficits in some areas.
Primary Beneficiary: China was the receiver of the largest portion of grain exports from Ukraine in the course of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, said the USDA in a report. The agency says that out of the 32.1 million metric tons of grains and edible oils sent through Ukrainian ports in the course of the deal, roughly 25% of the volume was shipped to China, making it the leading recipient. Over 7.2 million tons were shipped there, including 5.6 million tons of corn, 1.8 million tons of sunflower seed meal, 370,000 tons of sunflower oil, and 340,000 tons of barley. Russia has threatened to leave the deal when it expires next month, in turn fraying nerves about export availability.
AHEAD
--The USDA will put out its annual acreage report, along with its grain stocks report at noon ET Friday.
--The USDA will issue its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. ET.
--The USDA will release its weekly grains export inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday
--The USDA will release its monthly grain crushings report at 3 p.m. ET Monday
--The USDA will release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-29-23 1533ET
