By Francesca Fontana

--Wheat for May delivery edged lower Tuesday, falling 0.1% to $4.56 1/2 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday as traders weigh effects of wet weather and continued trade uncertainty.

--Soybeans for May delivery fell 0.2% to $9.04 a bushel.

--May corn contracts fell by 0.1% to $3.71 1/4 a bushel.

 
HIGHLIGHTS

Flooding in Midwest: Snow melt and wet weather are disrupting the transportation of grain in the Midwest and could affect planting season this spring. Flooding across portions of Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri has damaged fields, roads and railroad lines. If the wet conditions continue, farmers may shift more acreage to soybeans from corn, since corn is planted first. "If the moisture lasts all spring, acreage may be lower on both ends," said Allendale's Rich Nelson.

U.S.-China Trade: The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that U.S. and Chinese negotiators are planning new rounds of trade talks starting next week. In addition, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Bloomberg late Monday that China could as much as triple its U.S. purchases as part of trade deal. However, traders have been down this road before and seem to be waiting for a concrete deal before buying up grains.

 
INSIGHT

Nebraska: The state's agricultural sector could be facing nearly a billion dollars in damage and losses after the recent blizzard and record flooding, according to early estimates. The blizzard hit Nebraska during calving season for the state's 1.9 million beef cows. Agriculture accounts for 20% of the state's GDP, and livestock accounted for nearly 60% of its agriculture revenue, or $12.5 billion, last year. Nebraska is also a major corn producer.

 
AHEAD

--The EIA will release its weekly U.S. ethanol inventory and production figures at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.

--The USDA releases its weekly export sales figures for agriculture and livestock at 8:30 a.m. EDT Thursday.

Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 19, 2019 15:40 ET (19:40 GMT)

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