By Kirk Maltais

--Corn for December delivery rose 1.3% to $5.32 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday. Spot market demand for corn was high while farmers are reluctant to sell their freshly harvested crops.

--Wheat for December delivery rose 0.3% to $7.36 1/4 a bushel.

--Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.3% to $12.21 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Fuel Frenzy: Corn futures led the CBOT higher by the close of Monday's session due in part to strong demand from industries like ethanol. "The spot processing margin is as high as 50 cents a gallon positive, which, in terms of cents per bushel, looks like it works out to around $1.35, more or less," said Charlie Sernatinger of ED&F Man Capital. "That is serious jack for an industry that was on its heels through much of the pandemic, and it has the processors out west bidding up hard for spot corn, and staying open, even when they are more or less plugged."

Fertilizer Factor: Crude oil prices rose Monday, providing support for grain futures throughout the day. "There is increasing chatter that high energy prices could ultimately limit fertilizer production, leaving Ag markets vulnerable," said Robert Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA. Today, crude oil futures closed up 0.2% to roughly $82.44 per barrel, making it 10.6% that oil prices have risen since the start of the month. Higher fertilizer prices are expected to impact the planting decisions made by U.S. farmers ahead of the next planting season.

INSIGHTS

It's Fundamental: Supply-and-demand fundamentals look to ultimately drive wheat prices higher as the week progresses. "Wheat still looks the best technically, supplies held by major exporters are tight, and demand continues to show up via international tenders," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives. High prices were a factor causing Egypt - one of the biggest buyers of wheat exports globally - to cancel a previously-announced tender last week. Even so, available supplies for large wheat consumers appear to be dwindling, forcing them to buy higher-priced spot market material.

Back to the Grind: Export inspections of U.S. corn and soybeans have jumped, according to USDA data. In its latest weekly grain export inspections report, the USDA said that inspections of U.S. corn for the week ended October 14 totaled 976,218 metric tons, up from 842,848 tons last week. Meanwhile, soybean inspections totaled 2.3 million tons, up from 1.74 million tons in the previous week. Wheat inspections were low this week, at a paltry 139,753 tons. Traders today were keenly eyeing this week's report, as an indicator of where demand for U.S. grains on the export market currently stand.

AHEAD:

--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

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

--The USDA will release its monthly livestock slaughter report at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-18-21 1523ET