By Kirk Maltais
--Wheat for March delivery fell 3.2%, to $5.28 1/2 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, finishing the shortened week ahead of next week's WASDE report from the USDA.
--Soybeans for March delivery fell 2%, to $9.92 a bushel.
--Corn for March delivery fell 1.9%, to $4.51 1/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Starting Point: CBOT grain trading closed a light week as traders got their books in order for 2025. The new year is expected to bring more strong crop yields globally. "Trade has been pretty choppy this week and last from the holidays and today we are seeing consolidation take place," said Karl Setzer of Consus Ag Consulting. Much of this positioning comes ahead of next week's WASDE report from the USDA.
Below the Mark: Export sales of U.S. soybean and wheat reported by the USDA this week both landed below the low-end of forecasts from analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The USDA said Friday that soybean export sales for the week ended Dec. 26 totaled 484,700 metric tons in the 2024/25 marketing year. That's a marketing-year low, the USDA said, down 51% from the previous week. Wheat sales totaled 140,600 tons in 2024/25, also a marketing-year low and down 77% from the previous week. For both soybeans and wheat, sales landed below the low-end of analyst estimates, while corn did land on the low-end of estimates. Weak export sales pressured grains Friday.
INSIGHT
Fuel Fuzziness: Soybeans, as well as soy products like meal and oil, have been under pressure due to issues with renewable-fuel programs around the world. The expectation that President-elect Donald Trump will advocate more for fossil fuels has been a factor weighing on the soy complex, but the U.S. isn't the only place where the proliferation of renewable fuels remains in doubt. "Delayed implementation of Indonesia's B40 program is a headwind for vegoils, with palm oil down nearly 2% on the day," John Stewart & Associates said in a note. "And without 45Z guidelines in the U.S. we may see SBO continue to face headwinds here in the short run."
Still High: Food prices slipped in December but remained near 19-month highs, driven by cheaper sugar, dairy products and vegetable oils, data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations showed on Friday. The FAO's food price index--which tracks global prices for a basket of staple foods--averaged 127.0 points in December, a 0.5% decrease from November's level and 6.7% higher than a year earlier. The index reached 19-month highs in November, but remained below the record reached in March 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
AHEAD
--The USDA will release its weekly Grain Export Inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.
--The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Monday.
--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
--Joseph Hoppe contributed to this article.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-03-25 1524ET