By Will Horner

A roundup of key agricultural commodity markets for the week of Oct. 18-22 by Dow Jones Newswires in London.

GRAINS & OILSEEDS

Grains were mixed Monday as traders awaited data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for clues on supply and demand.

Wheat futures in Chicago were flat at $7.34 a bushel, corn rose 0.6% to $5295 a bushel and soybeans gained 0.4% to $12.23 a bushel.

Midwest weather was dry with temperatures dipping over the weekend, according to DTN, weather that was good for harvesting farmers and initially added pressure on grain prices on expectations of stronger harvests.

"Hedge pressure is anticipated with the good harvest weather over the weekend," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst and broker at Summit Commodity Brokerage.

The USDA is set to release its crop progress report later Monday, which should offer some indication of supply, while weekly export sales data is due on Thursday.

Meanwhile, export inspections of both corn and soybeans in the week ending Oct. 14 jumped, USDA data released Monday showed.

French consultancy Strategie Grains is also due to release its monthly European grains report on Thursday. Last month, Strategie lowered its forecasts for soft wheat production in the 2021-22 season by 2.4 million metric tons to 129.1 million tons due to extreme weather events.

SOFT COMMODITIES

Sugar prices remain stuck in a narrow range, and analysts see few fundamental drivers that could see the sweetener change course.

Raw sugar futures in New York fell 1.5% Monday to 19.54 U.S. cents a pound. The contracts have flicked around the 20 cents a pound mark since the middle of August, as Indian exporters have sold above the psychological level and consumers have bought when prices fell below it, said Robin Shaw, a sugar analyst at Marex.

"We think that strong consumer buying, together with the narrowing of the spreads, and rising cash values, outweigh the relatively minor bearish points," he said. "The truth is that we are more firmly stuck in the range than ever."

--Kirk Maltais contributed to this report

Write to Will Horner at william.horner@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2021 13:11 ET (17:11 GMT)