By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for May delivery rose 2% to $5.56 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, with Russian wheat export prices showing signs of recovery amid short-covering by traders.

--Corn for May delivery fell 1.4% to $4.32 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for May delivery rose 0.8% to $11.83 1/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Timing is Everything: Russian wheat export prices have picked up following a period of decline, boosting wheat futures. "It's difficult to be bearish seasonally and as the Russian fob market firms," AgResource said in a note. Other analysts noted that while the recent Crop Progress report showed a much-better crop condition for winter wheat than this time last year, forecasts made this early in the growing season typically aren't accurate.

Linked: Helping break corn out of its funk earlier this week is strength in crude oil, with the most-active contract trading above $85 a barrel, translating to strength for feedstocks used for renewable fuels like ethanol. This helped corn to shake off reports that China is urging corn importers to slow down in an effort to support domestic growers.


INSIGHT


Bears Still Hanging Around: Bearish grain fundamentals remain, Matt Zeller of StoneX said in a note. For corn, the market is wondering whether the USDA's recent cut to its planted acres forecast will stick, while for other grains it's a question of how many corn acres, if any, are converted to wheat or soybeans.

Looking at the Upside: Export sales of U.S. soybeans and related products may have room to rise this week, according to analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The low end of estimates are roughly where sales for these commodities were last week, while the high end shows a clear trend up, with soybean sales seen as high as 700,000 metric tons, soymeal sales at a possible 400,000 tons, and soyoil sales as high as 10,000 tons.


AHEAD


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

--Conagra Brands will release its third-quarter earnings before the stock market opens Thursday.

--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

04-03-24 1536ET