By Kirk Maltais

--Corn for March delivery fell 0.8% to $4.92 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday as some grains traders took profits ahead of tomorrow's WASDE report from the USDA.

--Wheat for March delivery fell 0.6% to $6.34 3/4 a bushel.

--Soybeans for March delivery fell 0.2% to $13.72 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Locking in Profits: CBOT grains futures shifted lower throughout the day after trading higher pre-market. "The bulls have scored massive profits since the December WASDE report and wanted to 'nail down' a modest portion of those gains amid the uncertainty of the final January Crop/December Stocks reports," said AgResource. Tomorrow's WASDE is scheduled to be released at noon.

Echoing Turmoil: Macro market concerns including the political unrest in D.C. and a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on commodities - including grains. "Virtually the entire commodity sector is under pressure today," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX. House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against President Trump Monday. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar index on the Intercontinental Exchange moved higher for the third-straight session.

INSIGHTS

Risk Factor: Tomorrow's WASDE report is expected to show a slide in U.S. row crop stockpiles, which will likely be viewed as higher demand amid sputtering supply. However, in order to maintain the strength seen in grains futures - which are trading at 6-7 year highs currently - the USDA may have to make cuts that are even bigger than current analyst projections, said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives. This concern is expected to weigh more on corn than soybeans, Mr. Bergman said. "For the USDA numbers to be bullish corn on its own merit tomorrow, stocks numbers will need to come in well below the average trade guess."

Strong Figures: Corn and soybean export inspections have reached the higher end of analyst expectations, according to the USDA's weekly report. Corn export inspections totaled 1.13 million metric tons this week, while soybean inspections totaled 1.78 million tons. For both grains, Mexico was the primary destination - with 154,305 tons of corn being inspected and 145,971 tons of soybeans inspected for export.

AHEAD:

--The USDA will release its monthly supply and demand report at noon ET Tuesday.

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

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

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-11-21 1527ET