By Kirk Maltais
-- Wheat for July delivery fell 2.3% to $6.37 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday as traders continue to hit the brakes on what has been a strong month for wheat futures.
-- Corn for July delivery fell 0.6% to $4.74 3/4 a bushel.
-- Soybeans for July delivery fell 0.2% to $11.95 1/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Balancing Act: Wheat has gained nearly 30% year to date, but was down throughout Thursday's trading session. While wheat is experiencing dryness issues in the western side of the U.S. Plains, some traders think that the tear in wheat has room to go back to being soft.
"The wheat market, in my opinion, continues to be the market that is overpriced given the global situation," said Gary Sandlund of Futures International in a note.
Some areas of the world are seeing hiccups in their wheat crop, but U.S. wheat prices are seen as uncompetitive on the world export market stage.
Dour Note: CBOT grain futures were mostly down throughout the day, closing out a strong April on an uncharacteristic low note.
Trading was tentative, with AgResource saying the market is waiting for the next headlines regarding the Strait of Hormuz showdown.
"It will be difficult to sustain a bull or bear trend until Trump decides the U.S.'s next move in the war with Iran," the firm said in a note.
In April, CBOT wheat gained nearly 7%, while corn rose nearly 4% and soybeans climbed 2%.
INSIGHT
Slim Bill: The House of Representatives passed a new Farm Bill, with the legislation now moving to the Senate.
But the bill is missing some provisions that many in the agricultural market were looking for, including regulations allowing for the passage of year-round E15 -- motor vehicle fuel blended with 15% ethanol. E15 has been allowed to be sold during the summer months in recent years, but allowing E15 year-round is expected to help bolster domestic corn consumption via ethanol.
Tense Reception: Kevin Warsh faces serious headwinds as new Fed chair as energy inflation spreads across the economy and the FOMC leans hawkish.
"Warsh will be inheriting a committee … that is notably less dovish than where it was three to six months ago," Mackenzie Investments' Dustin Reid said.
Warsh is presumed to be willing to cut interest rates, but he would need to convince FOMC members, something that became notably harder after three members voted to remove a dovish indication from the committee's statement.
"Will he be able to find consensus and get people to his view, if that indeed is his view, once he does take over as chair?" Reid said.
Low Side: U.S. soybean export sales landed on the low side of analyst forecasts for the week, according to USDA data.
In its latest weekly report published Thursday, the USDA said soybean export sales across the 2025-26 and 2026-27 marketing years totaled 261,100 metric tons for the week ended April 23. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal estimated soybean export sales between 200,000 tons and 600,000 tons.
Taiwan was the lead buyer of wheat for the week, while Mexico was the top buyer of corn. China was the leading buyer of soybeans.
AHEAD
-- The USDA is scheduled to release its monthly grain crushings report at 3 p.m. EDT Friday.
-- The CFTC is due to release its weekly Commitments of Traders Report at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday.
-- Tyson Foods is scheduled to release its first-quarter earnings report before the stock market opens Monday.
-- The USDA is due to release its weekly grain export inspections report at 11 a.m. EDT Monday.
-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. EDT Monday.
-- Paulo Trevisani contributed to this article.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-30-26 1542ET
