By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for July delivery fell 1.2%, to $5.84 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, after the USDA's WASDE report showed increasing world supply of both wheat and corn.

--Corn for July delivery fell 0.7%, to $4.55 a bushel.

--Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.1%, to $11.79 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Bountiful Supply: The USDA lifted its outlook for global corn production and global corn ending stocks in its WASDE report, with global production at 1.3 billion metric tons and ending stocks seen at 294.8 million tons. Global wheat production also increased, to 844.2 million tons. Ending stocks of wheat jumped by 6.2 million tons, to 283.1 million tons. "A bit of a negative report for corn and wheat as the larger wheat supply could cut into global corn feeding," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note--adding that the higher global supply projections give more room for U.S. production to move lower due to weather issues or farmer economics.

Optimistic Tone: CBOT soybean futures were supported throughout Thursday. The WASDE report showed a shifting of soybean demand away from the export market toward domestic crushing, which is seen as a reaction to the new renewable-fuel regulations announced by the EPA. The new regulations redirect a higher percentage of volumes waived by the small-refinery exemption towards larger refineries. Improved sentiment around biofuel demand is why soybeans are getting a boost from ongoing concerns around the Iran war, said Mike Castle of StoneX in a note.


INSIGHT


Minimal Improvement: Dryness in the U.S. Plains--largely winter wheat growing areas--has only seen marginal improvement from the prior week, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Most of Nebraska remains in drought, as well as parts of Oklahoma and Texas. In the Delta, in states like Arkansas, drought is affecting areas that are planting cotton in addition to row crops like corn and soybeans.

Strong Showing: Export sales of U.S. corn landed near the high side of analyst estimates this week, according to USDA data. The USDA said Thursday that for the week ended April 2, export sales of U.S. corn totaled 1.37 million metric tons across the 2025/26 and 2026/27 marketing years. That is close to the high end of forecasts from analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week, who forecast sales between 900,000 tons and 1.6 million tons. Soybean and wheat sales totaled on the low end of forecasts--soybean sales at 295,400 tons and wheat sales at 254,300 tons.


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 weekly Crop Progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-09-26 1504ET