By Kirk Maltais

--Wheat for May delivery rose 1.2%, to $6.18 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday, in response to the USDA's confirmation of a new flash sale of U.S. wheat, with the buyer believed to be China.

--Soybeans for May delivery rose 0.8%, to $14.12 3/4 a bushel.

--Corn for May delivery fell 1.2%, to $5.53 1/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Flash Forward: The USDA confirmed a flash sale of U.S. wheat exports Monday, confirming that 130,000 metric tons of soft red wheat were sold to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2021/22 marketing year. Although the USDA listed the buyer as unknown destinations, the buyer is believed to be China, said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives. Although the sale boosted wheat in the short-term, wheat is seen as having the weakest fundamentals going forward. "Wheat is still the weakest leg as U.S. and global supplies remain large relative to corn/beans with no major issues as northern hemisphere crops start growing," said Mr. Bergman.

Shrinking Stocks: Rising prices for U.S. soybeans in an effort to capitalize on shrinking stockpiles--otherwise known as "demand rationing"--had soybean futures trading higher on the CBOT Monday. "The market is now attempting to ration current-year supplies to increase the carryover into the new year to meet projected demand," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX. "As such, we're seeing buying come back for both the old- and new-crop contracts today, with the old-crop contracts taking the lead once again."

INSIGHTS

Inspections Higher: U.S. inspections of corn continue to lead the way for grain exports, with inspections up from the previous week according to the USDA. In its weekly export inspection report released Monday, the USDA said that export inspections of corn totaled 1.9 million metric tons for the week ended April 1. That's up from 1.7 million tons the previous week. China was the leading destination for U.S. corn for the week, with over 500,000 tons of corn being sent there. Mexico, Japan, Korea and Colombia were also leading buyers of U.S. corn.

Shifting Focus: Grains traders are shifting their area of focus from USDA reports to up-to-date views on farmers planting progress, with the USDA's weekly crop progress reports beginning to be released today. "Now that we are past the March reports and the reaction to numbers, we will start to see attention shift back to the U.S. planting season," said Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. "We are now approaching the spring insurance planting dates and fieldwork will start to increase." With weather being supportive for planting, many farmers are out in their fields beginning the process for spring planting, Mr. Setzer adds.

AHEAD:

--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.

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

--The CFTC will release its weekly commitment of traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-05-21 1456ET