By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for May delivery fell 1.4%, to $6.80 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, with weather forecasts for next week in the Midwest showing improved planting conditions, while U.S. wheat exports stay uncompetitive versus other global offerings.

--Soybeans for May delivery fell 0.4% to $15.11 a bushel.

--Corn for May delivery fell 0.2% to $6.52 3/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Out In The Fields: Conditions in the Midwest and Plains are expected to be warming up and getting drier next week, according to the latest forecast from agricultural research firm DTN - right on time for spring planting. In the case of corn, some planting has already begun. "Warmer conditions are also forecast for next week, getting more of the northern snowpack melted, and allowing folks to get out into their fields if not too wet," said DTN. The USDA began reporting the progress of U.S. spring planting earlier this week.

Weak Offering: Meager export sales reported for U.S. wheat in recent weeks put pressure on CBOT wheat futures today, said Terry Reilly of Futures International in a note. For wheat, a lingering sentiment of uncompetitive U.S. exports on the world market is keeping a damper on prices, Mr. Reilly said. Traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast that tomorrow's wheat export sales may be as low as 100,000 metric tons.

Bouncing About: After moving higher in earlier trading, CBOT corn futures finished lower. "Corn likely bounced this morning on short covering due to testing the lows made on report day last week where selling dried up," said Brian Splitt of AgMarket.net. Overall pressure on grains stemmed from a 'sell the rally' mentality among traders, said Mr. Splitt.


INSIGHT


Lower Stocks: Inventories of U.S. ethanol fell back from the previous week, dropping to the lowest level since late February, the EIA said today. Inventories totaled 25.14 million barrels, down from 25.53 million barrels in the previous week. Daily production stayed in place at 1.003 million barrels a day. Estimates provided to Dow Jones this week showed analyst forecasts for inventories of between 25 million barrels and 25.63 million barrels, while production was forecast at a slimmer margin of 998,000 barrels a day to 1.003 million barrels a day.

Hitting the Wall: Farmland values in recent years exploded, leading to record-prices for land in states like Iowa that could have been otherwise used for farming. However, the rapid increase in interest rates have effectively put a stop to frenzied investment in expensive acres. "The number of transactions so far in 2023 pales in comparison to what we saw last year on the state level, although we certainly have pockets of activity," said Bruce Sherrick of the TIAA Center for Farmland Research at the University of Illinois. Last year, sales as high as $30,000 per acre were reported for some farmland plots, obliterating previous records.


AHEAD


--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

--The CBOT will be closed in observance of Good Friday on Friday, returning to normal service on Monday.

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

04-05-23 1545ET