By Kirk Maltais

--Soybeans for March delivery rose 2.5% to $14.25 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday on reports that Brazilian farmers are reluctant to sell their harvests to exporters, which may push more demand toward U.S. suppliers.

--Corn for March delivery rose 0.1% to $6.11 a bushel.

--Wheat for March delivery fell 0.8% to $7.90 1/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Holding Out: Soybeans perked up Thursday, putting them at their highest level since August, on reported reluctance of Brazil's farmers to sell their crops. The move would leave exporters short for orders and may put U.S. exports in a better position. "This would be expected to lead China to buy more U.S. soybeans to extend our export season to cover its crush needs until the Brazilian farmer decides to sell if the holdout continues," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX. Additionally, Mr. Suderman adds that China is rumored to have purchased a large batch of U.S. corn and soybean exports which would lend credence to the slowdown from Brazil.

Turn Around: Daily production of ethanol in the U.S. rebounded from last week's decline, which provided support for corn futures that were sagging amid a lack of fresh news or a change to the South American weather forecast. The EIA said that for the week ended January 14, daily ethanol production hit 1.05 million barrels per day, up from 1.01 million barrels per day reported last week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week had largely expected production to fall, to as low as 996,000 barrels per day. Ethanol is a key source of consumption for U.S. corn.

INSIGHTS

Looking for More: Export sales of U.S. corn are expected to rise this week, according to grain traders surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. They're forecasting that sales reported by the USDA for the week ended January 13 will total anywhere from 500,000 metric tons to 1.2 million tons - which is up from 457,700 tons reported last week. Soybean and wheat sales may also turn higher, traders say. This week's report is delayed until Friday due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Monday.

Rocking the Boat: Freezing occurring on main river shipping lanes is delaying barges of grain shipments traveling through, according to the USDA. "Severe winter weather has complicated shipping on many rivers," said the USDA in its weekly transportation report. "Freezing of the Mississippi River has continuously delayed the river's barge movements since early January. On the St. Louis-to-Cairo section of the Lower Mississippi, freezing and low-water conditions currently slow operations and require reduced tow sizes." The USDA adds that unfavorable conditions are expected to persist for the rest of the month. For the week ending January 15, the USDA says barged grain movements totaled 491,988 tons, down 46% from the same period last year.

AHEAD:

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

-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.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 20, 2022 15:25 ET (20:25 GMT)

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