By Will Horner

A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week of July 12-16 by Dow Jones Newswires in London.

GRAINS & OILSEEDS

Grains futures rose at the start of the new week after less-than-expected rainfall over the weekend and as traders awaited a key report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Corn futures in Chicago rose 1% to $5.22 a bushel while soybeans gained 0.6% to $13.37 a bushel. Wheat futures edged down 0.2% to $6.14 a bushel.

Traders are awaiting the USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report due later in the day.

The USDA's projections for 2021/22 crop yields are expected to weaken slightly from last month, though remain higher than last year's figures, according to analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, rainfall across U.S growing regions over the weekend was less than grain traders were anticipating, helping lift grains prices.

In Europe, agricultural consultancy SovEcon late Friday upgraded its forecasts for Ukraine's crop, thanks to good weather.

The key Black Sea grains producer is now forecast to produce 38.6 million metric tons of corn, 1.8 million tons more than the consultancy's previous forecast. The nation's wheat harvest should total 30.3 million tons, 1.4 million tons more than expected earlier. Both harvests would constitute a record high for Ukraine, which is the primary competitor of U.S. farmers in China's corn market, the consultancy said.

French agricultural consultancy Strategie Grains is set to release its monthly report Thursday.

SOFT COMMODITIES

Soft commodity markets were mixed Monday, with coffee rising on continuing concerns about Brazil's drought.

Coffee futures in New York rose 1.5% to $1.54 a pound. The contracts have risen more than 20% in the last three months as dry weather in Brazil is expected to drastically reduce output from the world's biggest coffee-producing nation.

"The trees look wilted and battered. They look now as they would during the dry season in August," said Stephen Pollard, a coffee analyst at brokerage Marex. The dry weather is also weighing on prospects for the 2022 crop. "There is concern that they might not be able to produce as they would next year," Mr. Pollard said.

Sugar, which Brazil is also a large producer of, is also being affected by the dry weather. Data on the state of the harvest, set to be released later Monday by Unica, Brazil's sugar growers association, should shed some light on the cane harvest, Marex said in a note.

Cocoa prices rose 3.1% to $2,420 a ton while sugar futures fell 1% to 17.10 cents a pound.

--Kirk Maltais contributed to this article

Write to Will Horner at william.horner@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

This item was corrected on July 13, 2021 to show that Stephen Pollard is a coffee analyst at Marex. An earlier version incorrectly used Marex's former name, Marex Spectron.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-12-21 1156ET