By Paulo Trevisani 



  --Corn for December delivery rose 1.2% to $3.58 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, as crop estimates were lowered amid optimism about demand from China. 


  --Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.2% to $9.68 a bushel. 


  --Wheat for December delivery fell 0.5% to $5.50 1/4 a bushel. 


  HIGHLIGHTS 


  Estimate Game: IHS Markit lowered its yield estimate for the U.S. corn crop after bad weather hit some of the top growing areas last month. The move, ahead of next week's USDA forecasts, supported corn prices. However, even at the new forecast of nearly 15 billion bushels of corn, Market's estimate is higher than last year's production of 13.6 billion bushels. 


  China, China, China: The USDA said exporters reported sales of 318,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2020/2021 marketing year, plus 175,000 tons to the Philippines. AgResource said Chinese buying of U.S. grains is needed to support prices, as concerns remain about an outsized crop boosting supplies. 


  INSIGHT 


  Macro Matters: Marex Spectron's Georgi Slavov told The Wall Street Journal that macroeconomic factors are positively affecting the soybean price formation. "In fact, I am convinced that this is the case for at least one such variable, namely the creation of credit," which has been rising, Mr. Slavov said. By his calculations, about a third of current grain prices are being driven by macro factors. 


  Brazil's Beans Are Back: Brazilian farmers are likely to grow a record 132.2 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2020-2021 growing season, according to agricultural consultancy Safras & Mercado. Good prices and strong exports should spur farmers to plant more acres with the crop, and with favorable weather, production could reach that forecast, the group said. Safras's previous forecast for the upcoming season was 131.7 million tons, and in the 2019-2020 growing season Brazil produced 125.3 million tons. Brazil overtook the U.S. in the 2019-2020 season to become the world's biggest soybean producer and will likely hold on to the top spot for the 2020-2021 season, according to the USDA. 


  AHEAD 


  --The Chicago Board of Trade will be closed Monday in observance of the Labor Day holiday, reopening on Tuesday. 


  --The USDA releases its weekly grain export inspections data at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday. 


  --The USDA releases its weekly crop progress report for the 2020/21 crop at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday. 


  --Jeffrey T. Lewis contributed to this article. 


  Write to Paulo Trevisani at paulo.trevisani@wsj.com