By Kirk Maltais

--Wheat for December delivery rose 0.5% to $5.20 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday, as weather issues and political developments in South America made U.S. wheat appear more competitive on the world stage.

--Soybeans for November delivery fell 0.1% to $9.33 3/4 a bushel.

--Corn for December delivery lost 0.1% to $3.87 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Weather Assist: A drought in Ukraine is likely to affect winter-wheat planting there, and South American crops are also dry. In addition, Algeria, Jordan, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey and other nations have sought or are seeking to purchase wheat this week. Some traders are betting that the possible tightening of supplies overseas combined with apparent demand for wheat may lead to foreign buying of U.S. grain.

Political Grist: The Brazilian real strengthened after Congress passed pension reform there, making U.S. grains slightly more attractive for buyers like China. In Argentina, traders are watching the presidential election with interest, amid speculation the left-wing candidate could raise export duties on agriculture if he wins. "Polls continue to suggest...Alberto Fernandez will take power, and a boost in export duties is a real possibility," AgResource said.

INSIGHT

Ethanol Not Encouraging: Daily ethanol production rose by 25,000 barrels a day to 996,000 barrels last week, according to EIA data. The USDA has lowered its target for corn use for the biofuel, but even the reduced goal may be out of reach. "The USDA is still looking for a minor year-over-year increase in corn use for ethanol in 2019/20, but demand will have to ramp up sharply in the coming months to indicate any hitting of that target," said Arlan Suderman of INTL FCStone.

AHEAD

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

--The USDA will release its monthly Cattle on Feed report at 3 p.m. EDT Friday.

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

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 23, 2019 16:24 ET (20:24 GMT)

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