By Anthony Harrup


--Corn for March delivery settled up 1.2% Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade at $4.33 a bushel, recovering some losses from earlier in the week despite a drop in weekly export sales

--Soybeans for January delivery edged up 0.1% to $9.89 1/2 a bushel

--Wheat for March delivery slipped 0.1% to $5.48 a bushel


HIGHLIGHTS


Corn Gains: Corn picks up from what some see as oversold, limiting losses for a week that included President-elect Donald Trump's threats of placing import tariffs on Mexican goods when he takes office, which raised concerns of eventual retaliation.

The Agriculture Department reported weekly corn export sales were down 29% at 1.06 million metric tons for the 2024/25 marketing year, with Mexico the biggest buyer. Mexico also bought 67,200 tons for 2025/26. Strong demand for ethanol is in part, "helping to keep nearby corn futures supported above $4.00," Total Farm Marketing said in a note.

Soy Trifecta: Soybeans shook off early losses to settle slightly higher after the USDA reported weekly export sales of 2.49 million metric tons, a 2024/2025 marketing-year high. "But there was plenty of other good news for the sector as well," Arlan Suderman of StoneX said in a note, adding that soyoil export sales of 124,800 tons and soymeal sales of 487,300 tons completed "the trifecta for the soy complex."

The USDA also reported sales of 991,700 metric tons to unknown destinations for the 2024/25 marketing year.


INSIGHT


Export Quota: Grains consulting firm SovEcon said the recent 1.8 million metric-ton reduction in its forecast for Russian wheat exports to 44.1 million metric tons is due to tight export restrictions that will be implemented from mid-February to June. This season's exports are expected to be below last year's 52.4 million tons, but above the 40.9 million-ton 5-year average, the firm said.

The Russian government on Friday set the wheat export quota for the period at 11 million tons, down from 29 million tons last year, Interfax reported.

Market Share Fight: The global rivalry in the grains trade is increasing and currency weakness in export countries "just adds to the competition," AgResource said in a note, pointing to the slump in the Russian ruble and the Brazilian real. The primary fundamental driver of CBOT valuations in December will be "improved U.S. farmer selling due to looming record large South American crops."


AHEAD


--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.

--Hormel Foods Corp. will release its fourth-quarter earnings report before the stock market opens on Wednesday.

--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.


Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-29-24 1513ET