By Paulo Trevisani


-Corn for May delivery rose 1% to $4.36 3/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, reversing early weakness as Brazilian rainfall remains uncertain.

-Soybeans for May delivery rose 0.3% to $11.98 1/4 a bushel.

-Wheat for May delivery fell 0.7% to $5.28 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Corn Turnaround: Corn futures gained traction toward the end of the session after a weak opening amid concerns about Brazilian production. "There is still uncertainty in the market about the weather in central Brazil," Summit's Tomm Pfitzenmaier said in a note, adding that insufficient rain could damage the country's second corn crop, known as "safrinha." Pfitzenmaier said there are also questions about the amount of U.S. acreage dedicated to corn this year. Soybeans prices rose as they overcame low export sales and expectations of large Brazilian exports.

Enough Rain: The USDA said that private exporters reported sales of 125,000 metric tons of corn to unknown destinations for delivery during the current marketing year, but prices took a while to rise. Meanhwile, markets keep watching rain patterns in Brazil's growing regions. AgResource said in a note this morning that, despite below normal rainfall, Brazil's corn harvest "will push ahead, and enough rain will fall for the needs of winter corn."


INSIGHT


Higher Crush: The oilseed crush in the U.S. last month was much higher than expected, Marex's Terry Reilly said in a report citing Friday's NOPA report. Reilly said the association reported 186.2 million bushels. "We are unsure if any new plants were added but do speculate the new plants that recently came online increased production." Reilly added that the crush was up 0.2% from January and 12.6% from a year earlier. Reilly estimated that "implied soybean oil demand decreased a touch last month, and is down from the previous month."

China Reversal: Wheat futures pared early losses, but seemed to still be reeling from Thursday's talks of China canceling purchases of the grain from multiple origins. AgResource said in a note that it was "not hearing any additional talk of Chinese wheat cancellations or shipment postponement." Still, the May contract declined as much as 1%, before recovering some what toward the end of the session. AgResource said brokers estimate that managed money has sold 2,900 contracts of wheat.


AHEAD


-The USDA will release its weekly grains export inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

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

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

-The USDA will release its monthly Livestock Slaughter report at 3 p.m. ET Thursday,

-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 Paulo Trevisani at paulo.trevisani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-15-24 1546ET