By Kirk Maltais


-- Wheat for March delivery rose 1.9% to $7.33 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, bouncing back from a low last seen in 2021 as rain and snow arrive in winter wheat-growing areas.

-- Corn for March delivery rose 1.7% to $6.77 1/4 a bushel.

-- Soybeans for March delivery fell 0.1% to $14.89 1/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Bounce From the Bottom: Wheat found its lowest level since September 2021 in Monday's session with a close of $7.20 a bushel, and created an opportunity for bargain hunters in Tuesday's session.

"News of snow and rainfall in the U.S. winter wheat-growing areas weighed on its price, as this will improve soil moisture levels for the crops as they emerge from their winter dormancy," said Commerzbank in a note.


Lag Time: Soybeans didn't see the lift carrying wheat and corn futures Tuesday. South America's rainfall and the huge harvest expected in Brazil was the source of pressure.

"Price trends are down for soybeans and soybean meal as the harvest in Brazil starts to expand in central and northern areas," said Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group in a note. "Central and northern Brazil remain in very good condition with scattered showers reported. Production potential for Brazil is called very strong even with potential problems and losses in the south."

Rainfall is forecast in both Argentina and Brazil this week.


INSIGHT


Bigger Bounty: The outlook for U.S. planting is expected to be slightly higher in 2023, said S&P Global Commodity Insights. In its latest outlook, the firm forecasts that 90.5 million acres of corn will be planted in the U.S., along with 88 million acres of soybeans.

Both are higher than last year's planting, with the USDA forecasting in its last WASDE report that farmers planted 88.6 million acres of corn and 86.3 million acres of soybeans.


Potential for More: The drop seen in natural-gas prices since fall 2022 -- with the Henry Hub continuous contract down nearly 40% in the past month alone -- may allow U.S. farmers to plant more than expected as fertilizer prices follow natural gas down. Natural gas is a key ingredient used in fertilizer, and with the drop in natural-gas prices has come easing fertilizer prices. The Green Markets Fertilizer Price Index is down nearly 30% in the past three months.

As a result, farmers may plant more corn than initially expected, Ken Zuckerberg of CoBank told WSJ.


AHEAD


-- The EIA is scheduled to release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. EST Wednesday.

-- The USDA is due to release its monthly Cold Storage Report at 3 p.m. EST Wednesday.

-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. EST Thursday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-24-23 1535ET