By Kirk Maltais
-- Wheat for December delivery rose 3.6% to $9.03 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday, with a weaker U.S. dollar supporting a surge in futures as fighting in Ukraine ramps up.
-- Corn for December delivery rose 0.5% to $6.70 1/2 a bushel.
-- Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.1% to $14.08 3/4 a bushel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Escalating Hostilities: Russia's efforts to annex areas of Ukraine through a referendum Kyiv calls a sham coupled with Ukraine's counteroffensive have introduced a new wave of turmoil into the region, which in turn lifted CBOT wheat futures.
"Grain exports are still flowing out of the Black Sea region but the trade remains on edge as the war continues," said Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note.
Helping support grains was an easing dollar, with the USD Index on the ICE down 1.3% this afternoon.
Lifting All Ships: Wheat futures were the main beneficiary of the increased tension surrounding the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, but corn and soybeans both got some support from wheat's strength.
"Harvest is in full swing and corn would be lower if wheat was not 20 to 30 cents higher today," said Craig Turner of Daniels Trading in a note, also saying that the same is true for soybeans.
Yield reports for both crops have been relatively consistent, which in turn has been a source of pressure for grain futures supported by the idea of limited supplies grown this year.
Oil Slick: Weakness in vegetable-oil prices translated to pressure in CBOT soybean futures Wednesday.
"Beans have been the weak leg as global vegoil price weakness is weighing," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives.
He adds that predictions concerning the U.S. soybean harvest are also keeping futures under water.
"Harvest pressure is expected to limit the upside in the coming weeks while uncertainty regarding the South American growing season should mean that the market maintains some risk premium," Mr. Bergman said.
INSIGHTS
Still in Decline: Daily ethanol production in the U.S. is down again, the third consecutive week it declined.
In its latest report, the EIA said daily ethanol production fell to 855,000 barrels per day for the week ended Sept. 23, down 46,000 barrels per day from 901,000 barrels per day the previous week.
It is a bigger fall than expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones, who had forecast production to slide to 876,000 barrels per day to 950,000 barrels per day.
Ethanol stocks rose for the week, climbing to 22.69 million barrels, up from 22.5 million barrels the previous week. Analysts had forecast stocks to be anywhere from 22 million barrels to 22.45 million barrels.
Setting the Tone: The USDA's quarterly grain stocks report, which is due at noon EDT on Friday, is expected to be important for the grains market going forward.
"The September grain stocks report from the USDA tends to be a market-mover, as it finalizes the old-crop corn and soybeans balance sheets and sets the tone for the new-crop season," said Marex in a note, adding traders tend to react to the report "at face value" when it is released.
The firm also claims that reduced demand prospects for grains are "overly aggressive" and won't hold up as the next crop year progresses.
AHEAD
-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday.
-- The USDA is due to release its quarterly hogs and pigs report at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday.
-- The USDA is scheduled to release its quarterly grain stocks report at noon EDT Friday.
-- The USDA is due to release its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. EDT Friday.
-- The CFTC is scheduled to release its weekly commitments of traders report at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-28-22 1542ET
