By Kirk Maltais


--Corn for July delivery rose 0.7% to $4.50 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, bouncing as traders consider the potential impact of weather in the U.S. Corn Belt.

--Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.6% to $11.69 3/4 a bushel.

--Wheat for July delivery fell 0.6% to $5.99 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Possible Delays: Rainfall that has arrived in the Corn Belt may make it harder for farmers to get into their fields over the next few days - giving corn futures support in what's otherwise a quiet trading session. "Things are pretty wet over most of the corn areas this week, which should set back planting plans for a few days, but no one is worrying, given the head start we have," said Charlie Sernatinger of Marex in a note. In Monday's Crop Progress report from the USDA, corn planting in the U.S. is right now ahead of both last-year's pace and the 5-year average pace - any delays may potentially pump the brakes on this progress, possibly introducing stress to an otherwise ample U.S. corn crop.

Technical Reversal: Corn and soybeans traded higher for much of the day after posting big drops yesterday, with traders opting to reverse course, said Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions. "Seems like corn/beans are seeing a little bounce after all the technical selling yesterday," said Hoops. "A little bargain-hunting it seems has lifted soybeans." Much of this activity comes ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates this afternoon, which is impacting markets across the board.


INSIGHT


Regulation Finalization: CBOT corn and soybeans caught some support from the Biden Administration's finalization of its GREET model -- which provides guidance for the tax credits for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). With corn and soybeans being feedstocks for renewable fuels, the guidance helps determine grain demand from fuel producers. Agriculture advocates were mixed on the new guidance, with some groups having reservations about what the government's regulations will mean going forward. "This announcement not only limits corn-based ethanol's contribution to the decarbonization of the aviation sector, but also requires farmers to bundle cover crops, no till, and enhanced efficiency nitrogen practices, which may not be practical for all landscapes and acres," said the Iowa Corn Growers Association in a note.

Down on the Downside: Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal are forecasting weaker grain export sales, which could potentially pressure CBOT grain futures in the latter half of the week. The analysts think wheat and soybean sales may fall to as low as 100,000 metric tons across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 marketing years for the week ended April 25. Export sales for both grains have faced stiff competition--wheat out of Russia and soybeans out of Brazil.

Turning Around: Daily average daily production in the U.S. rose more than expected by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week - climbing back towards the 1 million-barrel mark. In its latest weekly report, the EIA said that daily average production was 987,000 barrels a day for the week ended April 26. That is up from 954,000 barrels a day reported last week, and higher than forecast by surveyed analysts - who forecasted production between 933,000 barrels to 979,000 barrels a day. Analysts watching for this report wanted to see a turnaround from a recent downturn in ethanol production, said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage in a note.


AHEAD


--Zoetis Inc. will release its first-quarter earnings report at 7 a.m. ET Thursday.

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

--Ethanol producer Green Plains Inc. will release its first-quarter earnings report before the stock market opens on 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

05-01-24 1519ET