By Kirk Maltais

--Corn for March delivery rose 1.2% to $4.33 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday, after the USDA confirmed more U.S. corn exports being purchased.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 0.9% to $11.91 1/2 a bushel.

--Wheat for March delivery rose 0.8% to 6.04 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Busy Buyer: Some 334,000 metric tons of U.S. corn exports have been sold to unknown destinations, the USDA confirmed Monday. It's the latest sale of U.S. corn reported by the agency, with the 'unknown destinations' designator commonly used for exports sent to China. Corn futures have also been following soybeans higher amid dry weather in Brazil. "Producers generally have corn to sell, and the outlook from here is only bullish if beans continue to trade higher," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives.

Hitting the Wall: Soybean futures trading on the CBOT again failed to burst through the $12 per bushel barrier, this despite market sentiment that rains in Brazil over the weekend were not enough to offset the damage being done to soybean crops there. "January soybean futures have been unable to rise above $12 [per bushel] for the 3rd time in the past 10 days," said AgResource. "The Brazilian drought continues to garner the attention of the trade amid deepening crop losses. A 128-129 [million metric ton] Brazilian 2020 soy crop is garnering considerable attention as to how it would impact a US soybean balance sheet that cannot stand any additional demand."

INSIGHTS

Follow the Clouds: Brazilian rainfall is expected to be the main driver for grains this week, even with the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. "Trade will once again closely monitor South American weather during this week's trade," said Karl Setzer of AgriVisor.

Strong Showing: Although winter wheat in the U.S., Russia and Brazil are having issues growing due to dry weather conditions, wheat in Europe appears to be having an easier time. According to data from the French agricultural ministry, winter barley conditions are 95% good or excellent, up from 79% a year ago. Additionally, planting of the winter wheat crop is at 95%, ahead of last year's 88%. "Weather conditions for winter crops in Europe appear to be a sight better than South America," said Dan Hueber of the Hueber Report.

Rising Tide: Inventories of U.S. ethanol are expected to grow again this week, said Terry Reilly of Futures International. Ethanol inventories are expected to increase by 25,000 barrels to 75,000 barrels - similar to the 44,000 barrel uptick reported by the EIA last week. If inventories do increase, it will mark the fourth week in a row that ethanol inventories have risen. That would coincide with the resurgence of coronavirus infections nationwide, which has sent many states back into economic shutdowns and limited gasoline/ethanol consumption.

 
 AHEAD: 
 

--The EIA releases its weekly update on ethanol production and inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

--The Chicago Board of Trade will be closed in observance of Thanksgiving on Thursday. It will close early on Friday, reopening at its regular schedule next week.

--Grains and livestock trading on the Chicago Board of Trade will close at 1:05 p.m. ET Friday.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 23, 2020 15:20 ET (20:20 GMT)