By Paulo Trevisani

--Wheat for September delivery rose 2.1% to $6.88 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, amid forecasts of crop-hurting weather conditions around the globe.

--Corn for December delivery rose 0.5% to $5.49 a bushel.

--Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.1% to $13.61 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Watch Wheat: Wheat led a mostly bullish grains trade as forecasts of weather unfavorable to crops fueled bets on reduced supply. Besides the U.S. heat, "the market is hearing about too wet weather in China and Europe and dry conditions in southern Russia and Kazakhstan," Price Futures said. "It has been very cold in South America and the winter crops are in trouble in Brazil and Paraguay," the broker said, adding that U.S. white winter wheat production "is also being hurt and impacted by drought and heat this year."

Too Little, Too Late: Traders downplayed forecasts of cooling weather Wednesday and bet it may be too late for crop yields to recover from the dry heat. "The lack of subsoil moisture west of the Mississippi is supportive [of prices] especially with the lack of rain and extreme heat," Summit's Tomm Pfitzenmaier said. "However, the forecast for next week is a bit better with lower temperatures and a little better chance for rain." Meanwhile, frost in Brazil was reportedly hurting local corn and wheat crops.

INSIGHT

Feet Of Clay: Exceptional demand strength won't be there to support corn prices much longer, as it has during the latest rally, Marex said. "The prospects for similar conditions in the next 2-4 weeks are practically non-existent," according to the broker. "Persistent weakness of the U.S. dollar and persistent strength of the [Chinese yuan] might have something to do with [strong demand]," Marex said, adding that "our FX Impact Index remains in favour of the stabilization of demand in late July and early August."

All Tanked Up: Ethanol stocks increased and production declined last week, the EIA said, a bearish development for corn prices. Futures International noted that stocks were the highest since February and production was the lowest since May. "The slowdown in corn crush reflects tighter domestic supplies and high basis, pressuring crush margins," the broker said. U.S. inventories rose to 22.7 million barrels in the week ended July 23, from 22.5 million barrels the week before, within the 22.6 million to 23.5 million range of analysts forecasts in a Dow Jones survey. Production was 1.014 million barrels a day, down from 1.028 million barrels a day, versus forecasts ranging from 1.008 million to 1.038 million.

 
AHEAD

--The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

--The USDA will release its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. ET Friday.

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

Write to Paulo Trevisani at paulo.trevisani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 28, 2021 15:26 ET (19:26 GMT)

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