By Kirk Maltais

--Wheat for March delivery rose 2.1% to $5.30 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, on reports that the U.S. and China are close reaching a trade deal.

--Corn for March delivery rose 1.8% to $3.77 3/4 a bushel.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 0.5% to $8.98 1/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Opportunity Knocks: Wheat futures reversed early losses after President Trump tweeted that a trade deal with China was imminent. "Wheat took off during the day session, pushed by multiple news stories of a trade deal supposedly right around the corner with China," said Charlie Sernatinger of ED&F Man Capital.

Back in Demand: Thursday's export sales report that showed corn exports at nearly 900,000 metric tons - as well as a new purchase by Mexico for 1.5 million tons of corn Thursday - sparked hope that foreign buyers are renewing purchases of U.S. corn, which was reflected in Thursday's price movement. This helped ease trader concerns about a lack of corn demand.

INSIGHT

After the Bell: Big swings in grains futures could come Friday if a Phase One trade deal is confirmed by both the White House and Chinese government officials. Soon after grains futures on the CBOT closed trading, reports surfaced claiming that the U.S. and Chinese delegations had reached a deal in principle on a partial deal. Traders are gun-shy to act on any trade deal news without supporting details of the deal.

On Your Own: Farmers shouldn't count on another round of trade-related payments from the USDA next year, said USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue during a conference Thursday. Perdue urged farmers to plant whatever they normally would to maximize profits, and warned farmers against feeling entitled to another multi-billion dollar rescue package from the government. "If markets move and we get back to trade, I'd be hopeful we don't need a third [trade payment program]," he told reporters at the conference, which was held in Omaha.

AHEAD:

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

-The USDA releases its weekly grain export inspections data at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

-The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) will release its crush statistics at noon ET Monday.

Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.