By Kirk Maltais


-- Wheat for March delivery rose 1.1% to $7.57 1/4 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday in response to higher-than-expected export sales reported by the USDA.

-- Corn for March delivery rose 0.5% to $6.53 1/2 a bushel.

-- Soybeans for January delivery fell 0.6% to $14.73 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Ray of Hope: The weekly export sales report from the USDA contained hopeful news for U.S. grains, with new sales topping trader estimates.

"The weekly export sales report suggested corn and wheat prices had gotten cheap enough to find some demand while bean sales were huge," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note.

Wheat, in particular, lost a lot of value in the latter half of the year, dropping 20% since October.

For the week ended Dec. 8, export sales of soybeans totaled 2.94 million metric tons for the 2022-23 marketing year. Corn sales totaled 958,900 tons, and wheat sales added up to 469,000 tons.


Crushing Disappointment: The latest monthly data from the National Oilseed Processors Association shows that the rate of soybeans crushed in the U.S. fell below last year's level, coming in at 179.2 million bushels.

That's down "below even the most pessimistic trade estimate," said Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note.

Traders were expecting the rate to be anywhere from roughly 180 million bushels to 183 million bushels, StoneX said. The report reinforced a down day for soybeans.


INSIGHTS


Looking Southward: Argentina received some rainfall Wednesday, while scattered showers are seen throughout Brazilian growing areas, DTN said in a forecast. This pressured soybean futures earlier in the day, after they got a lift in recent sessions from drought conditions in Argentina.

Dryness is generally expected to continue, DTN said. "Drought continues to have negative influences on corn and soybean development as well as planting."


Unfavorable Data: China's economy took a big hit from Covid-19 restrictions in November, in what economists hope will be the last big squeeze on growth from the zero-tolerance strategy that Beijing has since abandoned.

Chinese retail sales fell 5.9% in November compared with a year earlier, China's National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday, a more drastic decline than the 0.5% fall recorded in October or the 3.3% fall expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

U.S. markets reacted to this data that instilled fears of a prolonged recovery period for China's economy.


AHEAD


-- The CFTC is scheduled to release its weekly commitments of traders report at 3:30 p.m. EST Friday.

-- The USDA is due to release its weekly grains export inspections report at 11 a.m. EST Monday.

-- The EIA is scheduled to release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. EST Wednesday.


-- Jason Douglas contributed to this article.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-15-22 1548ET