By Kirk Maltais

 

--Wheat for December delivery fell 0.9% to $5.98 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Friday following Russian wheat price down as rain showers hit the Black Sea region.

--Corn for December delivery were unchanged at $3.98 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 0.6% to $10.56 1/4 a bushel.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Washout: Managed money funds continued to move money out of wheat Friday, adding up to a 5.4% drop in wheat futures this week. The U.S. move appears to be following in lockstep with Russian wheat futures, said Charlie Sernatinger of ED&F Man Capital. "Over in the Black Sea, the Russian wheat FOB was said to be $251/ton yesterday, down $2 from Wednesday," he adds.

Final Bets: With the presidential election just days away and the end of October upon us, traders made their final bets on what the election outcome could mean for grains, said Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. "There is a significant amount of unknown that always enters a market ahead of this event, mainly on what changes we may see to global trade relations if we see a change in administrations," said Mr. Setzer.

 

INSIGHTS

 

Afterburner: Corn futures could take a hit if Joe Biden emerges as the victor in next week's election, mostly in the belief that a Biden Administration would enact regulations designed to encourage the proliferation of electric vehicles, which would slash gasoline consumption and therefore ethanol usage. "There is a perception that Biden will focus on eliminating gasoline-powered vehicles, which is really bad for ethanol," said Sal Gilbertie of Teucrium Trading. "If there is an election price reaction at all in the big ag markets, it might be negative for corn on a Biden win."

Looking For Signs: With the U.S. grains harvest nearly completed, traders are looking to the South American harvest for signals on the direction of prices. "Growing season will be heavily influenced this year by the rapid development of La Nina, caused by the cooling of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX. "Very favorable rainfall is expected for central and northern areas of Brazil's soybean belt for the summer months. The exception is southern areas of the belt that could see significant moisture stress." Mr. Suderman adds that,"The primary concern here would be if wet conditions are excessive in February, slowing harvest and planting of the safrinha corn crop."

Rays of Hope: In an earnings call Friday, Archer Daniels Midland CFO Ray Young said that Chinese buyers are making inquiries about importing ethanol from the U.S., which could help boost prices for the corn-based fuel additive. Young is optimistic about prospects for ethanol after the industry has struggled for years with high production and low prices. But for now ADM expects to keep two of its own plants offline through the winter. Economic data will help determine when to reopen them, Young said, but he expects other shuttered plants in the industry will remain closed permanently.

 

AHEAD:

 

--U.S. Foods Holding Corp. will release third-quarter earnings before the market opens on Monday.

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

--The USDA will release its monthly grains crushings report at 3 p.m. ET Monday.

--The USDA releases its weekly crop progress report for the 2020/21 crop at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

--Mondelez International Inc. will release third-quarter earnings after the market closes on Monday.

 

Jacob Bunge contributed to this article.

 

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

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 30, 2020 15:37 ET (19:37 GMT)

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