By Kirk Maltais


-- Wheat for July delivery rose 2.7% to $10.78 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday in reaction to indications that U.S. wheat exports may become more desirable on the world stage.

-- Corn for July delivery rose 1.8% to $7.88 1/4 a bushel.

-- Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.9% to $17.09 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Better Prospects: Indications that U.S. wheat may become more competitive on the world export market stage helped drive most-active futures higher Thursday.

"Wheat rallied strongly on short covering in front of the long weekend off talk of the U.S. becoming competitive in the export market, and talk of minimal deliveries against the July," said Charlie Sernatinger of ED&F Man Capital in a note.

Also helping support wheat were forecasts for hot weather in the Midwest and a weaker U.S. dollar, with the USD index on the ICE down 1.4%.

In Thursday's export sales report from the USDA, net sales of wheat totaled 236,900 tons for the week ended June 9, within trader expectations.


Hot Plate: New data from the NOAA are suggesting that crops in much of the U.S. Corn Belt, particularly in the central and southern portions, are expected to suffer from hot temperatures and less-than-normal rain heading into July and the fall. States such as Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri appear to be afflicted with both issues going into next month, although by September the majority of the Corn Belt states are expected to be drier and hotter than usual.

Grain futures traded lower in reaction to this new forecast, Rich Nelson of Allendale Inc. told the WSJ.


Oil Slick: With soyoil closing down 1.7%, the weakness put pressure on the soybean contract.

Still, soybeans finished higher, but lagged behind corn and wheat.

For soyoil, the main driver for lower prices comes from changing sentiment about palm oil supplies in Asia, with previously expected tightness there appearing to ease. It is the sixth straight session that they finished down, declining 8% in that period.


INSIGHTS


Logging a Low: Export sales of old-crop U.S. corn hit a marketing-year low this week. In its report covering sales for the week ended June 9, the USDA said sales of corn for the 2021-22 marketing year totaled 140,900 metric tons, a marketing-year low, down 50% from the previous week and 45% lower than the prior four-week average.

Meanwhile, net sales for 2022-23 totaled 138,900 tons. Combined sales across both marketing years fell on the low end of forecasts by traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week. Traders expected sales to total anywhere from 275,000 tons to 800,000 tons.


Clearing a Channel: Grain traders are eyeing news that the United Nations and Turkey are in talks over a sea lane in the Black Sea to allow the export of grains from Ukraine. Turkish and U.N. diplomats have been in discussions as to how to establish the safe passage of food vessels in the region, given the large amount of mines placed by Ukraine to defend its ports from further attack.

About 20 million tons of grains are left within the country, with worries over storage mounting for when the new crop is harvested.


AHEAD


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

-- The USDA and CBOT will be closed in observance of Juneteenth on Monday. Both will reopen on Tuesday.

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

-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday.


-- Yusuf Khan contributed to this article.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-16-22 1550ET