By Kirk Maltais

--Soybeans for July delivery rose 1.7% to $8.47 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, in reaction to the USDA confirming a new purchase of U.S. soybeans by China.

--Corn for July delivery rose 0.3% to $3.19 a bushel.

--Wheat for July delivery fell 0.4% to $5.06 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Great Expectations: The USDA said China bought 264,000 metric tons of soybeans of the 2019/20 and 2020/21 marketing years. "It's heartening that China is bidding for U.S. soys amid the political tensions that exist," AgResource said. Also lifting soybeans is the strengthening of the Brazilian real versus the U.S. dollar, which makes American soybeans more attractive for export buyers.

Green Shoots: Optimism spread across U.S. markets that the process of reopening the economy after the coronavirus lockdown is gaining momentum. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for May helped set the tone. The measure rose to 86.6 from 85.7 in April, topping expectations. New homes sales were also stronger than expected. "In other words, the consumer remains concerned about the present situation as we deal with the aftermath of shutting down the U.S. economy to slow the spread of coronavirus, but feels a bit better about the future as things start to reopen," said Arlan Suderman of INTL FCStone.

INSIGHT

Puny Exports: Export inspections for both U.S. wheat and soybeans were on the lower end this week, according to Terry Reilly of Futures International, with wheat inspections totaling 457,777 metric tons and soybean inspections at 333,127 tons. Few beans inspected were for delivery to China; instead, the top three buyers were Mexico, Japan and Egypt. More than 166,000 tons of wheat inspected were for delivery to the Chinese mainland, however.

Home on the Range: Corn futures have been stuck between $3.15 to $3.25 a bushel since mid-April. It may be awhile before they break out, said Todd Hubbs of the University of Illinois. "The potential for prices to move out of the range depends on supply issues and, more importantly, the nascent economic recovery," Mr. Hubbs said.

AHEAD

--The EIA releases its weekly update on ethanol production and inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

--The USDA will release its biannual Farm Labor report at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.

--The USDA will release its latest weekly export sales numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

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

--The CFTC releases its weekly commitment of traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

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