By Kirk Maltais


-Corn for May delivery fell 1.4% to $4.26 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday as traders maintained a risk-off approach ahead of tomorrow's Prospective Planting report from the USDA.

-Soybeans for May delivery fell 0.6% to $11.92 1/4 a bushel.

-Wheat for May delivery rose 0.7% to $5.47 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Bottom Feeding: CBOT grains were mostly weaker throughout the day, with traders taking a risk-off approach ahead of Thursday's Prospective Planting and Quarterly Stocks reports from the USDA. In the CFTC's last report, fund traders were shown as pulling back on short positions--although they remain heavily net short, particularly in corn. "The corn market is trying to find a bottom as the risk for the shorts appears to be higher," said AgriSompo.

Oil Spill: Soybeans were under pressure, following prices for soyoil down on Wednesday. "Edible oils are breaking down today, beans can't hang without bean oil," said John Payne of Hedgepoint Global. Vegetable oil has been supportive for soybeans in recent trading sessions, with demand for palm oil in Asia giving prices there a boost that's been rubbing off on soyoil and, by extension, soybeans.


INSIGHT


Butterfly Effect: The Baltimore bridge collapse may have a significant impact on the U.S. Midwest as farmers begin to plant this year's crops, says Dean Croke, principal industry analyst at freight-exchange service DAT Freight & Analytics. "March is the biggest month for imports of farm and construction machinery into the port of Baltimore." The port is the top U.S. entry point for large agriculture and construction equipment such as tractors, harvesters, forklifts and rubber tire dozers. Rerouting to other ports will add mileage and bring on challenges associated with finding slots, leading to a general slowdown of movements through the supply chain, Croke said.

Moisture Support: Rainfall in Brazil is supporting crops in northern growing areas and putting pressure on CBOT corn. "The Brazilian monsoon will continue normally for another two weeks in key safrinha corn producing states Mato Grosso & Goias, with subsoil moisture there now adequate following the dryness of early March," said Daniel Flynn of Price Futures Group in a note. "Mato Grosso & Goias account for 60% of total Brazilian safrinha production and avoiding yield issues there is important."

Ethanol Pile-Up: Ethanol inventories rose for the week ended March 22, finding their highest level in a year, according to EIA data. The EIA said that ethanol inventories totaled 26.09 million barrels for the week, up 83,000 barrels from the previous week. It is the highest since March 17, 2023, when the EIA reported stockpiles of 26.39 million barrels. The uptick in inventories fell within the estimates of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, which ranged from 25.91 million barrels to 26.2 million barrels.


AHEAD


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

-The USDA will release its annual Prospective Plantings report at noon ET Thursday.

-The USDA will release its quarterly Grain Stocks report at noon ET Thursday.


Giulia Petroni contributed to this article.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-27-24 1510ET