By Kirk Maltais


-Wheat for May delivery fell 2.2% to $5.43 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Tuesday, with traders staying tentative ahead of Thursday's USDA reports and unwilling to press any major wave of short-covering.

-Corn for May delivery fell 1.3% to $4.32 1/4 a bushel.

-Soybeans for May delivery fell 0.9% to $11.98 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Leading the Way Down: Russian wheat export prices have remained low compared to other origins, which was an outside source of pressure on CBOT wheat futures. "Wheat markets have been the bearish leader on Tuesday as nearby Russian fob prices stabilize," said AgResource in a note, adding that the level they've settled at is lower than offers from other areas like France and the U.S. Outside of this, trends for grains were largely absent, with traders biding time ahead of Thursday's reports.

Late Rain: The evaluation of how moisture late in Brazil's winter planting season is impacting corn there led to additional pressure on CBOT corn. "Normal weighted rainfall across the belt for the past 30 days would be near 8", while actual rainfall has been closer to 5", with above normal temperature readings," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX in a note. "Much of this rain came in the past 5-7 days, whereas things start to dry out again as we move into the month of April, when the bulk of the crop is expected to move into the pollination and early grain fill stages of development."


INSIGHT


Mild Season: The outlook for the Russian wheat crop is seen growing larger, research firm SovEcon said in a note. Winter weather conditions have been supportive for those crops. "Substantial precipitation allowed for significant snow cover in the Central and Volga regions and provided a high level of moisture reserves in the South," said the firm. However, conditions heading into the spring have grown warmer and dryer, which may adversely impact wheat in the coming weeks.

Moisture Watch: U.S. farmers are taking stock of their fields in the final days and weeks ahead of the start of planting. In Northeastern Nebraska, fields that are typically supported by irrigation have received an influx of precipitation, adding moisture to soils there that will allow seeds to germinate. "There's moisture in the ground to get the crop going," said Ed Lammers, who farms 1,500 acres outside of Hartington, Neb. However, Lammers doesn't typically start planting until the second-half of April, giving time for U.S. weather to potentially throw a new curveball.


AHEAD


-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 annual Prospective Plantings report at noon ET Thursday.

-The USDA will release its quarterly Grain Stocks report at noon ET Thursday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-26-24 1505ET