By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for July delivery rose 1.2% to $6.16 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, in reaction to weather forecasts reducing the amount of rain expected next week for winter wheat on the Plains.

--Soybeans for July delivery fell 0.1% to $11.86 1/2 a bushel.

--Corn for July delivery fell 0.2% to $4.77 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Growing Dry Patches: Thursday's data from the U.S. Drought Monitor showed larger areas experiencing severe and extreme drought in winter-wheat growing areas. This and changing weather forecasts in the coming week pushed wheat futures higher Thursday. "The weather forecasts going home last week were egregiously wet for the southern plains, but over the weekend changed precipitously as much of the moisture was incrementally lifted from the weather prognostications," said Charlie Sernatinger of Marex in a note.

Holding Pattern: The Trump administration is expected to unveil a number of pro-agriculture policies on Friday at a White House event, which kept trading volumes subdued Thursday. Traders expect that new renewable fuel obligations will be released, potentially increasing demand for corn and soybeans as feedstock for the fuels. Farmers also hope that an announcement regarding year-round E15 will be made. Potential help for farmers struggling with high fuel costs and limited fertilizer availability may also be on the agenda. Farmers are also keen to hear about any updates surrounding the USMCA, said Jed Bower, head of the National Corn Growers Association.

War Watch: Also pressuring grain futures Thursday was the unfolding back-and-forth discourse between the U.S. and Iran. "[We're] awaiting war news on whether a peace accord is accepted or a more lethal phase of the war is ahead," said AgResource in a note. If the war escalates it poses further threats to the energy needed to power crop growth and keeps fertilizer supplies trapped in the Middle East.


INSIGHT


Close But No Cigar: Grain prices are projected to bounce in 2026, said the Food & Agricultural Policy & Research Institute at the University of Missouri. In a new outlook, FAPRI said that it expects grain prices to come up from 2025. But they are not expected to surpass their average levels from over the past 10 years. FAPRI forecasts that corn prices will average $4.21 a bushel for crops planted this spring, while soybeans average $10.39 a bushel and wheat averages $5.58 a bushel.

More Than Expected: Export sales of soybeans and wheat both exceeded the high end of forecasts from analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The USDA said that for the week ended March 19, soybean export sales totaled 695,900 metric tons across the 2025/26 and 2026/27 marketing years. That exceeds the 200,000-to-500,000 tons range forecast by analysts for the week. Wheat landed at 603,000 tons for both marketing years, which beat the forecast range of 150,000 to 600,000 tons. Corn exports were 1.35 million tons across both years, landing on the high end of analysts' forecasts.


AHEAD


--The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

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

--The USDA will release its monthly Agricultural Prices report at 3 p.m. ET Monday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-26-26 1529ET