TOP STORIES:

Soybean Futures Turn Higher as Funds Return Amid Strong Fundamentals

Soybeans for March delivery rose 2.4% to $13.43 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, with last week's correction coming to an end as supply-demand fundamentals remain strong.

Corn and soybeans futures each fell more than 4% Friday, a slide that was linked to managed money funds offloading long positions. Daniel Flynn of Price Futures Group said the move appeared to be temporary, with those same funds buying grain futures Monday. "We all knew that was coming," Mr. Flynn said. "I do remain wildly bullish long-term overall."

Corn Inspections Climb With Japan The Leading Destination -- Market Talk

12:12 ET - Export inspections of US corn are up this week--with inspections totaling 54.8M bushels for the week ending January 21, rising from 36M bushels the previous week, according to USDA data. Japan was the biggest destination for US corn, with 20.4M bushels inspected for delivery there. That's well up from the 3.5M bushels inspected for delivery to Japan at this time last year, and up from the 6.4M bushels inspected for delivery there last week. Meanwhile, soybean inspections fall from last week, totaling 72.7 million bushels. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

STORIES OF INTEREST:

China Misses US Agriculture Buying Targets -- Market Talk

13:21 ET - While China's purchasing of US agricultural exports accelerated greatly in 2020 versus the previous year, they still missed the targets set by the so-called "phase one agreement" between the two nations last year. Chinese purchases of US agriculture totaled $23.5B in 2020, missing the target of $36.6B, according to data from the Peterson Institute of International Economics. China also missed its targets for buying manufactured goods and energy, according to the group. With President Biden inaugurated last week, market followers are now watching to see how the Biden administration reacts to China missing its predetermined targets, and how diplomatic relations will continue forward. Higher Chinese buying has been one factor elevating grains futures in recent months. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Cyclone Eloise May Raise Corn Prices in Southern Africa -- Market Talk

0717 GMT - Tropical cyclone Eloise threatens Mozambique's grain harvests, and could elevate corn prices across the region, even as South Africa, the continent's top producer, expects one of its largest crops, says Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at South Africa's Agricultural Business Chamber. The cyclone, which comes not long after Cyclone Idai devastated more than 700,000 hectares of farmland in early 2019, could plunge Mozambique into another food crisis, driving up import needs and pushing up prices. "A decline in commodity prices would be beneficial to the livestock and poultry industries, which have had to battle with higher feed prices over the past couple of months." He had believed demand for South African corn exports to the southern Africa region would soften, but this now looks unlikely due to the cyclone's impact. (Nicholas.Bariyo@wsj.com; @Nicholasbariyo)

THE MARKETS:

Lack of Surprises Support Cattle Futures -- Market Talk

15:18 ET - A lack of surprises in Friday's cattle on feed report helped provide support to live cattle futures Monday - with the most-active cattle contract finishing up 0.4% to $1.2295 per pound, while lean hogs finished trading up 0.6% to 76.625 cents per pound. The January Cattle on Feed report was mostly as expected, according to Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. As of January 1 the US had 11.97 million head of cattle on feed, 100% of last January's total, the USDA said Friday. Placements of cattle totaled 1.84 million head, the highest for December since 1996. Lower grains futures translates to lower feed costs for livestock producers. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Corrections & Amplifications

This item was corrected on Feb. 24, 2021 to show that January's USDA cattle on feed report showed placements at their highest for December since 1996. An earlier version incorrectly said placements were highest since January 1996.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-25-21 1732ET