By Kirk Maltais


--Soybeans for November delivery rose 1.9% to $14.10 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday, with hot weather expected to hit U.S. growing areas next week expected to do the most damage to soybeans there.

--Corn for December delivery rose 0.4% to $6.03 a bushel.

--Wheat for September delivery fell 1.7% to $7.90 1/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Hot and Ready: Hot and dry weather expected in U.S. growing areas next week was a big source of support for soybean futures today, with traders concerned that the streak of bad weather could have a serious effect on harvesting yields. "Not a lot of wiggle room to play with when it comes to yields," Donna Hughes of StoneX told the WSJ. The incoming hot weather is having an outsized effect on soybeans because while the corn crop does most of its development in July, soybeans tend to do so in August - making the weather in the coming weeks especially important.

Fuel for the Fire: Strength in soyoil futures was also a factor providing support to soybean futures, said Terry Reilly of Futures International in a note. "U.S. soybean crush margins are at their strongest levels since early June," he said. Soyoil is getting its lift from higher crude oil futures, as well as reports that China has agreed to purchase more Indonesian crude palm oil imports. The palm and soy oil markets often move together, as both compete in the vegetable oil space.

Meanwhile in Russia: Concerns about the Russia-Ukraine export corridor deal supported higher prices in pre-market trading, but they eventually faded as sentiment returned towards Ukrainian vessels being allowed to leave the Black Sea. "The bears are selling wheat on the hope for a reopening of Ukraine grade trade as stranded vessels are let out of the war zone later this week," said AgResource in a note. "Turkey confirmed that vessel monitoring has been set up in Istanbul, which means that Ukraine could allow stranded vessels out of the three nominated ports as early as Friday."


INSIGHTS


Missing the Mark: Daily production of ethanol in the U.S. fell towards the low end of analyst estimates, the EIA reported. In its latest weekly report, the EIA said ethanol production fell to 1.021 million barrels per day for the week ended July 22, which is down from 1.034 million barrels the previous week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week had forecast production to land anywhere from 1.02 million barrels to 1.042 million barrels per day. The EIA also reported a drop in ethanol inventories for the week, with inventories down to 23.33 million barrels from 23.55 million barrels reported last week.

Cost of War: While reporting a generally strong three months ended June 30, Bunge Ltd. said it was impacted by Russia-Ukraine conflict, which costs the company nearly $60 million. In a press release this morning, Bunge said the losses were due to the fighting, "primarily related to losses associated with inventories physically located in occupied territories in Ukraine, or in difficult to access locations with high costs of recovery." However, other segments such as the company's refined and specialty oils business posted strong improvements from the previous year. Bunge posted adjusted EPS of $2.97, which is lower than analyst estimates said Ben Bienvenu of Stephens in a note.

Potential for Disappointment: U.S. grain export sales could face a drop-off from the previous week, according to traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. While wheat, corn, and soybeans are all seen as having the potential of exceeding last week's sales, traders forecast that all three have the potential to post low figures - as low as 250,000 metric tons for wheat, 200,000 tons for corn, and 150,000 tons for soybeans. Diminished demand for old-crop grains has been a factor pulling export sales down recently, although last week's sales were more robust than in previous weeks.


AHEAD


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

-The USDA will release its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. 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

07-27-22 1509ET