TOP STORIES: 



  Wheat Futures Higher as Export Demand Appears to Rise 


  Wheat for September delivery rose 1.8% to $5.32 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, in response to indications that export buyers are purchasing larger shipments of wheat. Soybeans for November delivery fell 0.3% to $8.85 1/4 a bushel. Corn for December delivery fell 1.1% to $3.26 1/4 a bushel. 


  Export demand for U.S. wheat appears to be growing, while yields in countries like France are on the decline. "U.S. wheat remains expensive in the world market, but Mexico and Latin American buying has supported recent price breaks," AgResource said. Reports of Egypt buying nearly 500,000 metric tons of Russian/Ukrainian wheat supported the uptick in CBOT futures. 


  Sprouts Farmers Markets Sees 2Q Increase in In-Store Sales Amid Pandemic 


  Sprouts Farmers Markets Inc. said Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic drove a 9.1% increase in in-store sales in the second quarter. 


  For the quarter ended June 28, the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company reported a profit of $67 million, or 57 cents a share, compared with a profit of $35.3 million, or 30 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. 


  STORIES OF INTEREST: 


  Ethanol Inventories and Production Rise -- Market Talk 


  11:14 ET - Ethanol inventories in the US have risen after falling to their lowest levels since December 2016 last week. Ethanol inventories rose to 20.3M barrels this week, up 471,000 barrels, according to the EIA. Production is also up, growing by 50,000 barrels a day to 958,000. Grains traders expected a resurgence of Covid-19 in the US could stifle ethanol's recovery. The ethanol industry, meanwhile, is concentrating on the aid package expected to come out of Congress. "With ethanol producers struggling to recover from coronavirus-related market disruptions, it is imperative that any new aid package include specific emergency relief for the renewable fuels industry," Geoff Cooper of the Renewable Fuels Association says. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  China Hog Barns Rapidly Refilling, Bunge Says -- Market Talk 


  0849 ET - The loss of a huge portion of China's hog herd to African swine fever meant the loss of their appetites, too, reducing demand for feed supplied by agricultural processors like Bunge Ltd. But that's come back, says Greg Heckman, Bunge's CEO: "In China, their [soybean] meal demand has recovered much more quickly than any of us would have thought." Demand's strong in the US, too, as poultry and hog numbers remain near historic highs, helping Bunge weather slowdowns in foodservice demand for vegetable oil. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge) 


  THE MARKETS: 


  Hog Futures Keep Sliding -- Market Talk 


  15:12 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME finish 1.8% lower, at 49.825 cents per pound. It's the second straight day that hog futures finish lower, amid questions of whether hog prices can maintain a growth spurt that's usually common this time of the year. "It is not unusual for hog values to be higher in the summer months," says Steiner Consulting Group. "Some of that has to do with the fact that fewer hogs are available during this time of year, a function of a lower pig crop during winter months." However, with coronavirus, the usual seasonality seen in hog prices has been thrown off. Meanwhile, live cattle futures finish trading Wednesday up 1% at $1.0605 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)