By Kirk Maltais


-Wheat for July delivery rose 1.2% to $6.20 1/2 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, with traders preparing for a weekend storm system that may deliver damaging winds along with heavy rain.

-Corn for July delivery rose 0.8% to $4.52 a bushel.

-Soybeans for July delivery fell 0.2% to $11.79 1/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Weather Focus: CBOT wheat continued its streak of moves higher as analysts watch to see if dryness continues to be a factor hurting U.S. winter wheat over the weekend. "Rain chances are on the way today for dry southern Plains winter wheat areas, but severe weather chances could offset that benefit," Matt Zeller of StoneX said in a note. Wheat prices closed higher for the sixth consecutive session, gaining 13% in that period.

Setting Aside the Macro: Weather in growing areas was the dominant focus for traders in lieu of the macro conditions that have been dominating other markets. "Grains are marching to their own beat, and I don't see macro market developments have a direct impact on today's trade," said Jake Hanley of Teucrium Trading. Wider markets have been reacting to data showing higher-than-expected inflation and slower-than-expected 1Q GDP growth.


INSIGHT


Implications of Precipitation: The question among traders and analysts is whether or not extensive rain will serve as a net positive or net negative for farmers doing early planting. "Bulls note heavy rains over two weeks removes any yield premium that would have been seen from early planting," said Rich Nelson of Allendale Inc. "Bears would suggest this will give a good soil moisture recharge for good emergence and vegetative growth." Some areas, like the Southern Plains, have been experiencing crop issues due to too little rain. According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, pockets of extreme drought can also be found in northeastern Iowa.

Hitting the Gas: A streak of slow weeks for U.S. corn export sales was snapped today, with this week's export report from the USDA showing higher-than-expected totals. The USDA said that through April 18, the combined export sales for the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 marketing years totaled 1.56 million metric tons. The total is much higher than what was forecast by analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week, who forecast that sales would land anywhere between 475,000 tons and 1.15 million tons. However, soybean sales totaled 331,000 tons across both marketing years, which was a source of pressure for soybean futures today.


AHEAD


-The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

-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

04-25-24 1510ET