By Kirk Maltais


-Wheat for September delivery fell 3.3% to $6.49 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, as weather in crop-growing areas improves.

-Corn for September delivery fell 2.4% to $4.63 a bushel.

-Soybeans for August delivery fell 1.1% to $11.76 3/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Turning Idyllic: Weather in many U.S. crop-growing areas is supportive for healthy planting and early germination, said Joe Davis of Futures International in a note. "The sentiment for grains at this point slants towards more of a bearish stance simply based on the nearly ideal weather across the heartland, the forecast into the end of May does what it always does with warmer temps which will give way to fantastic early germination," said Davis in a note. Seasonality is setting in ahead of the summer starting, in which a "super" El Niño is expected to give many crop areas optimal weather.

Unsatisfying Ending: Grains were under pressure after the U.S.-China summit ended with no specific agreements to increase Chinese purchases of U.S. agriculture. "Ag markets are seeing follow-through selling with speculative buyers caught on the wrong side of the market as they were aggressive buyers ahead of the Trump/Xi summit and the market was disappointed with the results that didn't really show any new meaningful demand," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note.


INSIGHT


Holding Out Hope: Following the U.S.-China summit, some analysts still believe potential agreements may be around the corner. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China and the U.S. agreed to expand bilateral trade under a reciprocal tariff-reduction framework. He also mentioned concerns about agricultural market access. "The comments add to growing signals from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Trump administration officials that agriculture could become one of the earliest areas for tangible trade deliverables following the summit," said Jim Wiesemeyer of Ag Bull Trading.

Less Than Expected: Soybeans crushed to make soymeal and soyoil came in at 211.9 million bushels for the month of April, says the National Oilseed Processors Association. The rate of crush came in slightly lower than analyst estimates, while stocks of 1.95 billion bushels was slightly less than anticipated. Grain traders saw the report as neutral for trading, said AgResource in a note.


AHEAD


-The USDA will release its weekly Grain Export Inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

-The USDA will release its weekly Crop Progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

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


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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-15-26 1535ET