By Kirk Maltais


-Soybeans for July delivery fell 1.4% to $11.64 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday after the USDA confirmed crop conditions are in line with last year.

-Wheat for July delivery fell 1% to $6.02 1/2 a bushel.

-Corn for July delivery fell 0.9% to $4.40 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


On Par: Corn and soybean crop conditions are in line with the previous year, the USDA said in its weekly Crop Progress report. The agency said that 67% of the corn crop is in good or excellent condition, while 66% of the soybean crop is either good or excellent. That's off only 3 points for corn from last year, and one point for soybeans. Traders were expecting to see higher figures, but support to CBOT grain futures overnight fizzled by Tuesday morning.

Getting Relief: Growing areas in the U.S. Plains are getting rainstorms, with a system traveling through Kansas and Nebraska -- two states beset with advanced drought conditions. It's too late to help winter wheat, the USDA said in its daily agricultural weather forecast, but newer crops stand to benefit from this precipitation. "Active weather continues to provide limited drought relief," said the USDA. "Rain is benefiting rangeland, pastures, and summer crops." Spotty thunderstorms are also seen in the eastern Corn Belt, as well as rains in the deep South.

Risk Reduction: The risk premium coming from the U.S.-Iran conflict continues to lose steam, especially for corn futures, with the continuous contract shedding 9.5% since finding a year-high of $4.86 a bushel on May 4. "Even the most bearish are likely to be surprised how easily these markets have given up any pulse of bullishness," said Gary Sandlund of Futures International.


INSIGHT


Full-Cost Press: High input costs continue to worry U.S. farmers, pushing Purdue University/CME Group's Ag Economy Barometer down two points from last month to 119. "May's results indicated mounting concern about rising input costs and financial pressures," the group said. Only 14% of farmers say that their farm's financial health is better off than it was a year ago, with only 22% expecting conditions to improve within the next 12 months.

Big Haul: Argentina is set to harvest a record-large crop, with 64 million metric tons of corn expected for harvest, according to the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. That's up 5 million tons from a report of 59 million tons by the USDA in its WASDE release last month. U.S. grain traders are hopeful that a new deal with China means that the country will import sizable volumes of U.S. exports this year, but that hasn't come to pass as South American exports remain more attractive to the world's biggest buyer. Argentinian corn is being sold at a discount to its U.S. counterpart, said Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note.

Sizable Stash: Black Sea agricultural consultancy SovEcon said that it has cut its outlook for Russian wheat exports by 600,000 metric tons, to 46.8 million tons. In turn, the firm raises its forecast for Russian wheat stocks in the 2026/27 marketing year by 1.1M tons 46.3 million tons. The stronger ruble is making Russian wheat less competitive on the export stage. "Ample Russian supply and unusually high Ukrainian carry-in stocks are likely to be major bearish factors for the new season," said Andrey Sizov of SovEcon in a note.


AHEAD


-The EIA will release its Weekly Petroleum Status Update report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

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

-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

06-02-26 1526ET