By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for May delivery fell 3% to $5.59 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, with traders staying cautious as the weather outlook leading into the start of the planting season looking supportive for spring crops.

--Corn for May delivery fell 1.2% to $4.24 1/4 a bushel.

--Soybeans for May delivery rose 0.8% to $11.49 3/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Nothing Too Crazy: CBOT wheat led the agricultural complex lower, with selling coming as U.S. wheat remains non competitive against other origins on the export market - and there's no sign that any incoming freezing will impact U.S. winter wheat. "Wheat is being hit from favorable growing conditions on the winter crop in the U.S. and thoughts that any weather stress may have limited impact on production," Consus Ag Consulting's Karl Setzer said. He adds that the trend of lower prices on the world market is also affecting wheat.

Lockstep Motion: The pattern stayed the same all day for grains - with corn and wheat dropping while soybeans inch higher. For all three, fund traders are proceeding with the status quo of holding big short positions and there is little in the way of fundamentals that look to change that. "Everyone knows managed money is extremely short in grains, but unfortunately there hasn't been an impetus to cause the exit," said Brian Splitt of AgMarket.net.


INSIGHT


Seeking Direction: CBOT grains reversed their course from Thursday's close - with traders attempting to determine if more selling is in the cards for grains. "Traders will be watching fund flows in the new month and whether money is going in or going out of the CBOT grain complex," said AgResource in a note.

Dropped the Ball: Officials confirmed Friday that the Biden Administration would miss its own deadline to release an upgraded model for calculating life-cycle carbon emissions for renewable fuel, particularly sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). "While we are pleased to hear progress is being made on the modified GREET model, we are disappointed by this additional delay," Renewable Fuels Association head Geoff Cooper said in a note. Traders were hoping that the revised rules would contain positives for ethanol demand, in turn stimulating underlying corn demand.


AHEAD


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

--Ag Growth International will release its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings report after the stock market closes Tuesday.

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


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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-01-24 1457ET