By Kirk Maltais

-- Wheat for December delivery fell 1.1% to $6.22 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday in response to new forecasts for rainfall in Russian and U.S. wheat-growing areas over the weekend.

-- Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.2% to $10.73 3/4 a bushel.

-- Corn for December delivery rose 0.6% to $4.16 1/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Ready for Rain: Wheat futures dropped Thursday on wet weather forecasts.

"U.S. wheat areas as well as Russian areas are expected to get some rain, so sales or purchases of downside protection makes sense," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives.

Scattered showers are expected in Eastern Europe on Friday and Saturday, and heavier rainfall is expected in the U.S. Plains next week, according to agricultural weather firm DTN.

New Heights: Corn and soybean futures both charged to fresh rally highs Thursday.

"An early break uncovered fresh fund buying as speculative longs continue to pile into new length," said AgResource.

Corn futures hit a high of $4.19 per bushel intraday, the highest they have traded since late July 2019.

Soybeans hit an intraday high of over $10.85 per bushel, their highest level since July 2016. However, both corn and soybeans gave back some of their gains upon Thursday's close.

INSIGHTS

'Immediate Upside': Goldman Sachs analysts think the commodity sector has "immediate upside" due to the strong Chinese demand and weather driven risks, "but they see that momentum fizzling in 2021," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. With demand likely to slow down for commodities, energy and metals are seen as more likely areas of growth, according to the Goldman report.

Expectations Exceeded: Export sales of U.S. corn totaling 1.83 million metric tons exceeded the expectations of grains traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week. The total is up 21% from corn's four-week average, led by sales to Japan, China and Mexico.

Meanwhile, soybean sales totaled 2.23 million tons and wheat totaled 367,500 tons. For soybeans, this week's figure is on the high end of trader estimates, while wheat fell on the low end of expectations.

Keep On Rollin': U.S. grain shipments are up this week, according to data from the USDA. In its latest weekly grains transportation report, the USDA says that U.S. Class I railroads originated 27,434 grain carloads during the week ending Oct. 10, up 3% from last week and 31% more than last year. U.S. river barges moved 1.12 million metric tons of grains, which is up 48% than the previous week and 260% more than last year.

The movement of grain in the U.S. suggests a higher demand for grains among U.S. consumers.

AHEAD:

-- The USDA is scheduled to release its monthly cattle on feed report at 3 p.m. EDT Friday.

-- The CFTC is due to release its weekly commitments of traders report at 3:30 p.m. EDT Friday.

-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly grain export inspections data at 11 a.m. EDT Monday.

-- The USDA is due to release its weekly crop progress report for the 2020-21 crop at 4 p.m. EDT Monday.

-- Beyond Meat Inc. is scheduled to release its third- quarter earnings after the stock market closes Monday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2020 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT)

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