By Kirk Maltais


-- Wheat for December delivery fell 1.3% to $6.31 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday as traders decided to sell with no new developments on insuring Black Sea shipping vessels emerging.

-- Corn for December delivery fell 0.5% to $4.88 1/4 a bushel.

-- Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.8% to $13.71 3/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Scarce News: Grain traders are anxious to learn more information about what a proposal enabling continued shipments out of Ukraine will look like, but don't have details. This allowed futures to slip, particularly wheat.

"There is no clear picture of the Russian market and there was no fresh news on the Ukraine insurance scheme," said Steve Freed of ADM Investor Services in a note. "There is little specific fresh news, and the trade now awaits next week's Stats Canada crop update."


A Little Better: Corn and wheat futures were pressured in by conditions from the Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour improving over last year, particularly for corn. In Illinois, corn yields were estimated at 193.72 bushels an acre, up 1.6% from last year and up 0.8% from the prior three-year average.

Soybean pods counted in a three foot-by-three foot square averaged 1,270.8 pods, up 1.7% from last year and 0.9% higher than the previous three years.


Downside Potential: While soybean pod counts reported by Pro Farmer this week are mostly higher, futures were supported by lingering uncertainties.

"I think from a 'mystery' standpoint, it's all about beans," said John Payne of Hedgepoint Global.

Because soybeans are largely planted later in the spring than corn, much of the U.S. soybean crop is still in development, meaning a new stretch of unfavorable weather in the coming weeks could derail U.S. soybean output.


INSIGHT


In Demand: Export sales of U.S. soybeans for the week ended Aug. 17 beat the high end of expectations by analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

The USDA said 1.58 million metric tons of soybeans were sold in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 marketing years, beating the range of 800,000 tons to 1.3 million tons forecast by analysts.

Corn and wheat sales fell within analyst expectations, totaling 650,800 tons and 406,000 tons, respectively, across both marketing years.

The higher soybean figure was supportive for those futures, but corn and wheat futures fell as the perception of weak export demand was left unchanged.


Growing Patchwork: The latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows a much wider swath of Texas and Louisiana experiencing extreme or exceptional drought conditions, which may present the biggest threat to cotton growing in the South.

However, portions of Iowa and Minnesota also grew more severe in their moisture deficiency, which may have an impact on corn crops heading for the finish line and soybeans still in development.


AHEAD


-- The CFTC is scheduled to release its weekly Commitments of Traders Report at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday.

-- The USDA is due to release its weekly grains export inspections report at 11 a.m. EDT Monday.

-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. EDT Monday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-24-23 1555ET