By Kirk Maltais


--Corn for December delivery fell 0.7% to $4.89 3/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, finishing down after a choppy day as traders attempted to prepare for unknowns out of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

--Wheat for December delivery fell 0.2% to $5.78 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.5% to $12.87 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Uncomfortable Position: Prices oscillated for most of the day -- with geopolitical uncertainty and a relatively steady outlook for supply and demand outweighing any opportunity for fund traders to cover their short positions en masse. "Much of what we are seeing to start the week is simple technical positioning," said Karl Setzer of Consus Ag Consulting. "We are in tight ranges between support and resistance and this is generating choppy trade." The CFTC's Commitment of Traders report from Friday showed sizable net short positions for corn and wheat - with soybeans mostly even.

Hiccup in Progress: A slowdown in the pace that soybeans are being planted in Brazil helped support CBOT futures. AgRural reported that through Oct. 12, Brazilian planting work was 17% complete for soybeans. That's up from 10% a week earlier, but behind the 24% pace on the same date a year ago. The slowdown is due to hot and dry conditions delaying planting, and may lead to a lasting impact for this year's crop. "Brazil's been in this position before and still produced a good crop, but it does open the door for a late harvest, and we still cannot rule out the possibility of a short crop," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX in a note.


INSIGHT


War Zone: Volatile CBOT grain prices may continue amid uncertainty over the Israel-Hamas conflict, said Hedgepoint Global in a note. "While Israel plays a limited role in the import of agricultural commodities, the broader Middle East, a major importer of various agricultural goods, holds substantial weight in the global market," said the firm. "The impact of the conflict on the grains market depends on its scale and the responses of neighboring countries."

Oil Flex: Data showing strong demand for soyoil gave underlying soybean futures a push higher, while soyoil futures finished up 2.9%. Data from the National Oilseed Processors Association shows that a record number of soybeans were processed for the month of September at 165.5 million bushels. Meanwhile, soyoil stocks are at their lowest level in 9 years at 1.108 million pounds--due in large part to biofuel consumption of soyoil. "The WASDE will be forced to make future adjustments in demand," said AgResource in a note.

Big Appetite: China's recent purchases of U.S. wheat and soybean exports were a focus for traders today - although one that took a back seat to positioning and geopolitical volatility. Friday's purchases of wheat exports by China are still fresh in traders' memories, while the USDA confirmed that soybean export inspections jumped from this time last week, due mostly to shipments to China.


AHEAD


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

--The Federal Reserve Banks will release the Beige Book at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

--The USDA will release its monthly livestock slaughter report at 3 p.m. ET Thursday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-16-23 1543ET