By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for July delivery fell 0.9%, to $6.30 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, with Corn Belt crops expected to receive more precipitation through the end of the week while demand for U.S. exports stays stagnant.

--Corn for July delivery fell 0.8% to $6.07 3/4 a bushel.

--Soybeans for July delivery fell 0.8% to $13.88 1/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Unleashing the Rain: The support grain futures have gotten from predictions for dry weather in growing areas appears to be leveling off today, with traders reacting to a shift towards a wetter forecast by selling. "Markets are pulling back overnight as the [Western Corn Belt] forecast is a bit wetter and the markets were due for a correction after recent gains in the corn/beans," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note. Increased rainfall is expected to ease drought conditions in many areas, although this rain is expected to miss a lot of parched fields as well, says agricultural research firm DTN in a note.

Demand Drain: The effect of dry weather may only be limited, with traders generally mired in malaise as demand for U.S. grain exports stays flat. All [the market] sees is dismal export demand and prospects for the weather to improve as we move deeper into the summer," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX in a note. "Perception is reality, and the market needs to see proof otherwise."


INSIGHT


Missing the Mark: Inventories of U.S. ethanol have fallen below the level expected by analysts this week, according to the EIA. The firm said in its weekly report that ethanol inventories for the week ended June 9 totaled 22.23 million barrels. That's down over 700,000 barrels from last week's figure, and is well below the forecast of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week had pegged their stockpiles forecast between 22.85 million barrels and 23.15 million barrels.

Slow Rebuild: The destruction of Ukraine's crop-growing area isn't expected to quickly reverse following the end of the war with Russia - with a Kyiv-based researcher forecasting that it may take 20 years or more for the country to recover. The Kyiv School of Economics predicts that the country's sunflower, barley, and wheat sectors won't be fully recovered until 2040, while its corn, oats, rye, and rapeseed sectors won't be back until 2050. Fighting in Ukraine has destroyed millions of acres, with many farmers having to strip their land of hazards like landmines.

Growing Stocks: Inventories of French wheat are growing, even as hot and dry weather is taking its toll on this years' new crop production. FranceAgriMer, which is the country's head of agriculture, said that it has raised its estimate for France's soft-wheat stockpile, predicting it to hit 2.89 million tons. That's up from last month's estimate of 2.72 million tons, and comes even as growing conditions for crops stays difficult. Meanwhile, export estimates for shipments outside of the EU have slightly fallen, dropping to 10.2 million tons from 10.3 million tons.


AHEAD


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

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

--The USDA and the Chicago Board of Trade will be closed in observance of Juneteenth on Monday. Both will reopen on Tuesday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-14-23 1529ET