By Kirk Maltais

--Corn for December delivery fell 3.1% to $6.53 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday in reaction to rainfall over the weekend and more expected this week.

--Wheat for September delivery fell 2% to $9.17 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.6% to $14.32 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Wash Out: Rainfall providing needed moisture amid hot temperatures in areas of the Midwest put pressure on corn and wheat futures. "Corn is showing the most weakness due to weekend rainfall across Illinois that produced some needed soil moisture, with the midday forecast offering additional showers early next week," said AgResource in a note. "The risk-off mentality is related to the prospect of improving Central U.S. weather." In the past two weeks, the most-active corn contract shed nearly 10% and the wheat contract dropped over 15%. Soybeans fell roughly 9% in the past two weeks.

Corn Question: Expectations that the USDA's acreage report will show that farmers planted more corn than previously forecast put pressure on the corn futures contract. "The question is not so much that we see changes to acreage, but how much," said Karl Setzer of AgriVisor in a note. "The U.S. cannot afford to lose production on any crop this year given our current stocks to use models."

INSIGHTS

Long And Short Of It: The CFTC's latest Commitments of Traders report, released Friday, showed that through the week ended June 21 managed money funds moved out of long positions in grains. However, the move was less than expected, considering the selling seen in the past week. "The trade was off on estimating the traditional net long position for corn but keep in mind we saw some volatile days," said Terry Reilly of Futures International in a note. Long corn contracts by managed money funds fell by over 16,800 contracts for the week, according to the CFTC - while soybeans fell by over 5,300 contracts and soft red wheat dropped by over 3,200 contracts.

Feed The Fish: The appetite for U.S. soy exports is seen as growing in Cambodia, where fish consumption is also growing - necessitating the need for a reliable feed source. Soymeal made from U.S. soybeans is seen as one way the sector can grow. "You have a lot of farmers here using homemade feeds that don't include soy," said Brad Doyle, president of the American Soybean Association and a U.S. soybean farmer speaking in a press conference. According to Mr. Doyle, Cambodia's fishing industry is right now low efficiency - creating an opportunity for growth in soy consumption in that industry. "The future is bright if they can embrace the soybean," said Mr. Doyle.

Inching Up: Grain export inspections for the week are slightly higher across the board versus the previous week, according to USDA data. In its latest report, the USDA said corn export inspections for the week ended June 23 totaled 1.25 million metric tons, versus 1.19 million tons at this time last week. Soybean inspections totaled 468,309 tons versus 428,322 tons last week, and wheat inspections tallied 352,404 tons versus 348,309 tons last week. Japan was the leading destination for U.S. corn this week, while Mexico was the leading destination for wheat and China was the leading destination for soybeans.

AHEAD:

--The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

-The USDA will release its quarterly Hogs and Pigs report at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

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

-The USDA will release its acreage report at noon ET Thursday.

-The USDA will release its quarterly grain stocks report at noon ET Thursday.

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

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2022 15:41 ET (19:41 GMT)