By Kirk Maltais

--Wheat for July delivery rose 5.3% to $7.10 1/2 a bushel, the highest close since May 2014 on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, with commercial traders jumping into futures amid global supply concerns.

--Corn for May delivery rose 4% to $6.50 1/2 a bushel, the highest close since July 2013.

--Soybeans for July delivery rose 2.4% to $15.14 1/4 a bushel, the highest close since July 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS

Solid Backdrop: The surge seen in CBOT grains futures Thursday may appear sudden, but is well-supported by what's currently known about the world's grains supply, said John Payne of Daniels Trading. "In my opinion, it's not the algos pushing the market but a real fear about supply," said Mr. Payne, noting that concerns about a shrinking second crop of corn from Brazil is what's spurring fund traders to jump into corn futures. Wheat futures are rising partially because of the climb in corn, but the Russian-Ukraine tensions are also impacting trader sentiment towards wheat. "That's a story that's in the back of my brain," said Mr. Payne.

Finding Highs: With supply issues continuing to weigh on the grains complex, fund traders found it an ideal place to invest today, pushing row crops all to new highs. "It was off to the races for the grain and oilseed sector today, as outside money and end users both chased the market on fears of shortages in the months ahead," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX.

INSIGHTS

Weather Market: Cold weather in planting areas has been a dominant factor in trader sentiments this week. "The most attention has been on cold temperatures in the United States and what impact they have had on planting," said Karl Setzer of AgriVisor. "There have been several reports that it is too cold for corn to be planted, but given the dry conditions that are accompanying these temperatures, we are hearing several reports that crops are in fact going in."

Better Than Expected: Export sales of U.S. wheat are higher this week, exceeding trader expectations. In the USDA's weekly export sales report for the week ended April 15, wheat sales totaled 614,000 metric tons for both marketing years. The total is well up from 217,800 tons last week, and slightly exceeds the projections of grains traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week -- who had expected wheat sales to total anywhere from 100,000 tons to 600,000 tons. Mexico was the leading buyer of U.S. wheat this week, totaling 137,500 tons. Taiwan, Japan, and Italy were also leading buyers of wheat exports this week.

Slight Dip: U.S. grain shipments are slightly lower in this week's report from the USDA. In the agency's latest Grains Transportation Report this morning, the USDA says that U.S. Class I railroads originated 24,347 grain carloads for the week ending April 10, down 5% from the previous week but 10% higher than last year. Meanwhile, barge grain movements totaled 798,298 tons for the week ended April 17. This is down 12% from the previous week and 21% higher than last year.

 
AHEAD

--The USDA will release its monthly cattle on feed report at 3 p.m. ET Friday.

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

--The USDA will release its weekly export inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

--The USDA will release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 22, 2021 15:13 ET (19:13 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.