TOP STORIES: 


 
Wheat Futures Jump as Fund Buying Increases

Wheat for December delivery rose 2.6% to $5.56 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, as funds continued to pile into grains futures amid indications of higher Chinese demand. Corn, soybeans, and wheat closed at recent highs. "Optimism that Chinese buying will continue has the bears reluctant to press the short side of the corn market," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage. Corn is at the highest price it has traded at since March, wheat is at its highest since April, and soybeans has reached a more than two-year high. 


 
Soybean Export Sales Meet Strong Expectations -- Market Talk

08:55 ET - Soybean sales for the 2020/21 marketing year totaled 2.46 million metric tons for the week Sept. 10, according to the USDA. That's in line with the expectations of grains traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week, which forecasted anywhere from 1.5 million tons to 2.8 million of tons of soybeans to be sold. As expected, China is the main buyer this week, purchasing 1.49 million tons. According to grains traders, China's appetite for soybeans is likely due to them seeking to rebuild their decimated hog herds. Meanwhile, sales for corn and wheat this week were also within expectations, at 1.61 million tons and 335,700 tons, respectively. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 



  STORIES OF INTEREST: 

 
Anticipation of Growing Chinese Interest Spurs Corn -- Market Talk 


  13:16 ET - The 1.2% uptick seen in corn futures appears to be partially related to the sentiment that Chinese importers are becoming more interested in buying US corn due to weather issues there. "Private analysts think Chinese corn production is down 5 million metric tons more than the USDA has accounted for so Chinese supply is also feeding the bull story," Craig Turner of Daniels Trading says. "On the demand side the Chinese hog population is expanding rapidly and the need for feed is real. Add all this together with the Phase One trade agreement and it makes sense for China to buy US ag products aggressively." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 

 
Harvest Figures Will Start to Figure Into Grains Futures -- Market Talk 


  13:20 ET - The US grain harvest is expected to begin in earnest this weekend--and as long as unforeseen weather events don't derail it, then ample supplies of grains are expected to hit the market. Whether or not this slows down the recent rally seen in grains remains to be seen. Activity is also expected next week "with producers just starting to aggressively cut corn," says AgResource. The USDA's weekly crop progress report--the next one due out Monday -- will be watched mostly to see how the harvest has progressed. In its last report, the USDA pegged the US corn harvest at 5% complete, with soybean harvest figures not yet released. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  THE MARKETS: 

 
Hog Futures Finish Higher -- Market Talk 


  15:18 ET - Hog futures trading on the CME finished higher, with the most-active contract closing up 2.7% at 63.625 cents per pound. For hog futures, the uptick in futures prices followed the strong uptick seen in carcass cutout prices - with the carcass price rising $7.93 per hundredweight mid-day to $91.07 per cwt. That's an increase of 12.1% in the past five days alone. The higher prices comes as export demand for US pork appears to be stronger, with net sales reported by the USDA at 50,600 metric tons this week. Live cattle futures closed trading Thursday down 0.6% at $1.11325 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)