By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for March delivery rose 3.4% to $6.37 3/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, with renewed fighting between Ukraine and Russia helping drive the end-of-year positioning being done by traders.

--Corn for March delivery rose 1.6% to $4.80 3/4 a bushel.

--Soybeans for March delivery rose 0.9% to $13.18 1/2 a bushel


HIGHLIGHTS


Fresh Strikes: CBOT wheat were elevated in post-Christmas trading, with futures taking strength from renewed hostilities between Ukraine and Russia. "A Russian naval ship in Crimea was damaged in an airstrike by Ukrainian forces, Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday," said Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. "The landing ship Novocherkassk was hit at a base in the city of Feodosia by plane-launched guided missiles, the ministry said, adding that two Ukrainian fighter jets were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire during the attack."

Underpinning the Bounce: Strong export inspections reported by the USDA this morning provided support for the technical bounce seen on the CBOT. Outside of the USDA showing inspections of over 1 million tons for both corn and soybeans for the week, prices have rebounded from strong selling seen recently. "Nearly everything we are seeing today is year-end positioning in the grains/soybeans," said Karl Setzer of Consus Ag Consulting.


INSIGHT


Still Underwater: CBOT corn prices rose today, as traders appear to think that prices have fallen too low for now. "The market has become a bit oversold and with the momentum indicators turning higher Friday, some profit taking/short covering is possible," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage in a note. Even so, supply and demand fundamentals are making it unlikely for prices to rise much past the $5 a bushel mark in future sessions. "The corn market ultimately needs to see some improvement in export sales before we can see any lasting price improvement," said Pfitzenmaier.

Behind Pace: Wheat export inspections reported by the USDA for the week ended Dec. 21 improved from last week's showing, but total inspections remain well behind last year. The USDA reported today that wheat inspections for the week totaled 428,663 metric tons, which is up from 284,792 tons the previous week. However, for the 2023/24 marketing year, wheat inspections remain down 21% from 2022/23, at 9.33 million tons. Corn inspections rose from the previous week to 1.08 million tons, while soybean inspections fell to 1.07 million tons.


AHEAD


--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 11 a.m. ET Thursday.

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

--The USDA will release its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. ET Friday.

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


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-26-23 1519ET