By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for July delivery rose 2.3% to $6.30 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, with war-related risk premium returning to grains while farmers attempt to start the growing season on a good foot despite the weather.

--Corn for July delivery rose 1.3% to $4.69 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for July delivery rose 1.1% to $11.91 1/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Less Than Ideal: Weather was the primary driver for grain futures Monday, with rainfall seen in eastern Corn Belt states including Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois, while western states stay beset by drought conditions. "Large sections of the central and southern High Plains remain extremely dry, with a significantly elevated wildfire threat and worsening drought impacts on rangeland, pastures, and winter wheat," said the USDA in its daily weather report Monday. That means this afternoon's Crop Progress report will hold a lot of sway in how grain futures trade overnight.

Stuck in the Squeeze: The continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz also supported higher grain futures, with talks appearing to be stuck. More eyes were on grain futures amid reports of fertilizer supply troubles, said the Hightower Report in a note.


INSIGHT


Boosting the Surplus: The appetite for long grain positions among fund traders appears to have returned in some capacity, according to the CFTC in its latest Commitments of Traders report. The agency said fund traders added over 27,000 long contracts in corn through April 21, bringing that net long among funds to over 184,000 contracts. Soybeans added just over 10,000 long contracts, bringing that long position to nearly 193,000 contracts among funds.

Pulling Back: Export inspections of U.S. grains fell from the previous week, according to USDA data. In its latest weekly Grains Export Inspections report published Monday, the USDA said that for the week ended April 23, inspections of U.S. corn were 1.64 million metric tons, soybeans landed at 628,826 tons, and wheat was 365,156 tons. All three of these totals were below last week, and in the case of corn and wheat below this time last year.


AHEAD


-Smithfield Foods Inc. will release its first quarter 2026 earnings report at 4:30 a.m. ET Tuesday.

-Mondelez International will release its first quarter 2026 earnings report at 4:05 p.m. ET Tuesday.

-Bunge Global will release its first quarter 2026 earnings report at 6 a.m. ET Wednesday.

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

-Pilgrims Pride Corp. will release its first quarter 2026 earnings report after the stock market closes on Wednesday.


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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-27-26 1512ET