By Anthony Harrup


--Wheat for March delivery settled down 0.5%, at $5.19 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, ending a five-session winning streak as traders keep an eye on Russia-Ukraine peace efforts.

--Soybeans for January delivery fell 0.4%, to $10.58 3/4 a bushel.

--Corn for March delivery fell 0.2%, to $4.50 a bushel.


Rangebound: Grains futures opened slightly higher Friday after the Christmas break, only to slip in thin holiday trade and close the session lower. Wheat fell after rising for five straight sessions with support from continuing Russian and Ukrainian strikes on each other's infrastructure. Friday's weaker trade "may be associated with a meeting this Sunday between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelensky to discuss peace talks," commodities analyst Austin Schroeder said in a post on Barchart.

Battle for $4.50: Corn futures pressed further above the key $4.50 a bushel resistance breached on Wednesday, only to settle back at that level to close the day. The market is overbought after recent gains, Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives said in a note. "The bigger picture outlook is unchanged that the U.S. crop is overstated and export demand continues to thrive."


INSIGHT


War Premium: With Russia and Ukraine continuing attacks while peace efforts appear to be making progress, grains traders are debating whether to add or subtract the war premium from prices that has been building over the past week, AgResource said in a note. "A cease-fire or the end of the war would cause corn and wheat futures to decline." Traders will be closely watching Sunday's expected meeting between Trump and Zelensky, the firm added.

Looking South: Brazil has started harvesting early planted soybeans although more significant harvest momentum will take several more weeks, Arlan Suderman of StoneX said in a note. Estimates are for a record Brazilian crop, with suggestions of more than 6.5 billion bushels after good rains across most of the country during the growing season, he said. In Argentina, which is at an earlier stage of its growing season, the weather has been drier "but timely rains continue to support high crop ratings there as well," he added.


AHEAD


--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Monday

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

-The CFTC will release its Commitment of Traders report covering the week ended Dec. 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.

-The USDA will release its weekly export sales report covering the week ended Dec. 18 at 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.


Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-26-25 1527ET