By Kirk Maltais


--Corn for March delivery rose 2.2%, to $4.84 3/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, with traders opting to add a cushion for risk premium to compensate for any surprises out of the incoming Trump Administration next week.

--Soybeans for March delivery rose 1.6%, to $10.35 1/2 a bushel.

--Wheat for March delivery rose 0.3%, to $5.39 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Trade Talk: CBOT corn and soybean futures rose on reports of a phone call between President-elect Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump said that in the call the two discussed issues including the trade balance, with the coverage around the call describing it as a non-contentious discussion. "The market at midday is being [supported] by hope for U.S./Chinese cooperation in 2025," said AgResource in a note. The firm adds that politics taking center stage makes grain futures sensitive to new headlines quickly changing perceptions, necessitating the adding of "risk premium" to corn and soybeans.

Bringing Up the Rear: Wheat futures didn't get much of a boost from Thursday's export sales report from the USDA, despite that it showed export sales of 521,900 metric tons across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 marketing years, topping analyst forecasts. "Buyers have not been active lately," said Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group in a note. "USDA showed stronger than expected weekly export sales, but the sales were not strong enough to create much meaningful buying interest." South Korea was the leading buyer of U.S. wheat exports for the week.


INSIGHT


Return of Rallying: Corn futures continued to rally Friday after taking a breather on Thursday. At $4.85 a bushel, corn continues to rise to new highs unseen in over a year, shaking off caution seen among commodity traders ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration on Monday. Grain analysts maintain that rainfall in Argentina this weekend, if it materializes, will put pressure on the current rally. However, expectations are that executive orders coming from the incoming Trump Administration next week will contain something supportive for biofuels, said Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note.

Alternative Choices: Farmers in Texas, which produces winter wheat and cotton in addition to crops like corn and soybeans, are expected to plant more corn this year--not because corn has strong profit margins, but because cotton doesn't. "In Wharton County, southeast of Houston, we're looking at slightly more acres of corn in 2025 as in 2024, a few more acres of grain sorghum, and fewer acres of cotton," said Corrie Bowen of Texas A&M University. "$0.69 cotton, and higher input costs are reasons for possibly less cotton." Corn futures have been climbing, although remain far off from breakeven prices of over $5 a bushel in Texas.


AHEAD


--The CBOT and USDA will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with both reopening on Tuesday.

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

--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at noon ET Thursday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-17-25 1518ET