By Kirk Maltais

--Wheat for December delivery rose 2.2% to $5.17 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, as cold weather in the Midwest could hinder the germination of freshly planted winter wheat crops.

--Corn for December delivery rose 1.2% to $3.77 3/4 a bushel.

--Soybeans for January delivery were unchanged at $9.17 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Winter Worries: The bitter cold spell that has descended on most of the continental U.S. has produced snow in the Midwest, which normally doesn't hurt the growth of winter wheat crops but can delay the sprouting. "The soft red is buried under a blanket of snow with record cold temperatures over the eastern belt today, but winterkill is not the issue, instead it is germination of newly planted seeds," said Charlie Sernatinger of ED&F Man Capital. Despite the short-term wheat worries, the U.S. remains well-stocked with wheat, with the USDA projecting inventories of more than 1 billion bushels for the 2019/20 crop.

Deja Vu All Over Again: President Trump's statement that a partial trade deal with China was "close" and that the Chinese government was "dying to make a deal" did little to motivate soybean futures. A trade deal would be particularly beneficial for U.S. soybeans, although the spread of African swine fever in China is hurting potential demand by lessening China's need for soy animal feed. Speaking before the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday, Mr. Trump said that if no deal was reached, new tariffs would be levied.

INSIGHT

Tyson Growing Roots: Tyson Foods is expanding its meat-free business, CEO Noel White said. The meat producer plans to double distribution of its nascent protein alternative offerings to more than 7,000 stores and begin selling to restaurants. Tyson in August began rolling out its "Raised & Rooted" brand of plant-based nuggets, as an answer to the burgeoning alternative-meat wave driven by Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

Inspections Up, But Not Enough: Grain export inspections of corn and wheat both jumped, to 22.1 million bushels and 19.4 million bushels, respectively, and either met or exceeded traders' expectations, according to data from INTL FCStone. However, it isn't quite enough to put corn on track to meet an expected total of 1.85 billion bushels by the end of the year, with corn on pace to miss that figure by roughly 110 million bushels.

AHEAD

--The EIA releases its weekly update on ethanol production and inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

--The USDA will release its latest weekly export sales numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday

--The National Oilseed Processors Association will release its crush statistics at noon ET Friday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 12, 2019 16:10 ET (21:10 GMT)

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