By Kirk Maltais
-- Wheat for March delivery rose 0.4% to $5.48 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, with light trading allowing grain futures to post big moves during the session.
-- Corn for March delivery fell 0.3% to $4.53 3/4 a bushel.
-- Soybeans for March delivery rose 0.3% to $9.92 1/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Thinned Out: Grain futures on the CBOT had only limited volume Monday versus earlier in December, according to data from FactSet, making them more volatile in the session.
"Holiday-thinned volume and end-of-year book squaring are the features of the day," said AgResource in a note.
The month, year, and 4Q end after Tuesday's session.
Keeping It Simple: Weather in Brazil and Argentina continues to be the primary driver for soybean futures, says ADM Investor Services in a note. The firm cites "widespread wet season showers" helping to fill nascent soybean pods in Brazil.
Argentina weather, meanwhile, has turned drier and looks to cut into soil moisture, the firm said. "With how drawn out the growing season is, though, patchy areas of dryness are not a large concern just yet," ADM Investor Services said.
"However, the forecast calls for below-normal rainfall through at least the middle of January, which may lead to bigger concerns down the line."
INSIGHT
Changing of the Guard: Soybeans spent much of the day bouncing back from concerns about the incoming Trump administration's approach toward biofuels.
Speculation over potential moves by the outgoing Biden administration could help bolster soyoil's outlook has given soybeans some support, but the weight of farmer selling couldn't outdo that, said Charlie Sernatinger of Marex in a note.
Losing Steam: Export inspections of U.S. grains fell across the board this week, according to USDA data.
In its weekly export inspections report, the USDA said that soybean inspections for the week ended Dec. 26 totaled 1.57 million metric tons, down from 1.77 million tons reported by the USDA last week but higher than 970,385 tons at this time last year.
Corn and wheat had similar stories, with corn inspections down to 878,380 tons for the week versus 1.15 million tons last week. Wheat totaled 337,685 tons for the week, down from 405,923 tons the previous week. Both were higher than totals reported for the same week last year.
AHEAD
-- The USDA and CBOT are scheduled to be closed Wednesday in observance of the New Year, re-opening on Thursday.
-- The EIA is due to release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. EST Thursday.
-- The USDA is scheduled to release its monthly grain crushings report at 3 p.m. EST Thursday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-30-24 1540ET