By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for May delivery fell 4.1%, to $7.22 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday as traders positioning themselves as negotiations about extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative ramp up.

--Corn for May delivery fell 1.5% to $6.51 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for May delivery fell 0.5% to $15.21 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Year One: Wheat led grains down Friday, reacting to a higher U.S. dollar and its effect on the competitiveness of U.S. exports, as well as the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the pending renegotiation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. "Traders are waiting for Black Sea grain export deal news," said Terry Reilly of Futures International in a note. "Expect prices to remain choppy until a decision has been finalized." The US early Friday levied sanctions against some 200 additional individuals and entities in and associated with Russia.

Herd Mentality: Overall, fund traders spent the day liquidating positions, said AgResource. "Now the key question is, 'has the market digested the supply-driven Argentine loss with its attention shifting to Northern Hemisphere crop production and a seedings shift to additional oilseed acres?'" said the firm in a note.


INSIGHT


Lower Exports: Export sales of U.S grains fell within the expectations of traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, but mostly came in lower than last week's levels. For the week ended Feb. 16, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that export sales of U.S. corn totaled 848,700 metric tons across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 marketing years, while soybean sales totaled 556,600 tons. Both are lower than sales reported last week. Wheat sales came in at 418,800 tons, and fell on the high end of trader forecasts, up from 232,800 tons. Traders had projected sales within a range of 150,000 tons to 500,000 tons.

Close to Home: The disruption in the availability of fertilizer in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war - which sent prices to record highs globally - has the USDA pursuing ways to mitigate the effect of future supply shocks. "When Russia invaded Ukraine, it caused a really big disruption in fertilizer," said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack at the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum, which continues through today. In response, the USDA is examining 21 different projects to increase the efficiency of fertilizer use in the US, as well as find new alternatives for traditional fertilizers and produce more fertilizer overall stateside.


AHEAD


-The USDA will release its weekly grains export inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

-The USDA will release its annual Cold Storage summary report at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday.

-The USDA will release its monthly Agricultural Prices report at 3 p.m. ET Tuesday.


Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-24-23 1532ET