By Kirk Maltais


--Corn for March delivery rose 0.7% to $4.46 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, in reaction to continued signs from the USDA that demand for U.S. corn exports is coming in stronger from overseas than previously expected.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 0.4% to $11.20 a bushel.

--Wheat for March delivery rose 0.3% to $5.40 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Key Data Point: Next week's WASDE report from the USDA isn't expected to make many supply-side changes to U.S. row crops, said Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note. "Wild discrepancies in the current corn and soybean export paces will be the key focus of the trade for Tuesday's 2025 edition," he explained, adding that the stories for corn and soybean demand is different. "Will the government further cut their soybean export estimate with China slow to buy thus far, and/or further increase already-aggressive corn exports with that campaign off to a record hot start?" said Zeller.

No Mention: The USDA announces new flash sales of U.S. grain exports to Mexico and Colombia, with no mention of China. For the 2025/26 marketing year, the government reports 100,800 metric tons of corn for delivery to Colombia and 392,500 metric tons of corn for delivery to Mexico. Traders hoped that the USDA would announce more sales of soybeans to China. Still, news that shipments of purchases already made by China are being shipped is encouraging, said ADM Investor Services in a note.


INSIGHT


Meeting Expectations: The USDA reported export sales covering the week ended Oct. 30 on Thursday. Corn sales in the 2025/26 and 2026/27 are 1.97 million metric tons, while 1.25 million tons of soybeans and 515,900 tons of wheat were sold. The date of this report is around the time President Trump and Chinese President Xi met and reached a tentative agreement in which China would resume buying U.S. soybean exports, totaling 12 million metric tons. About half of that has been sold and shipping has started, says Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note.

Blowing the Budget: Prices for the types of fertilizers used by farmers are climbing, according to DTN in its latest weekly report. The research firm says that of the eight types of fertilizer ingredients it tracks, four types had higher prices this week, two were unchanged, and two saw prices decrease--but remain on the high-end of where they've been over the past year. In the U.S., fertilizer prices are among the main input costs for farmers, along with things like land rent or taxes and seed costs. On an earnings call last month, Nutrien CEO Ken Seitz said the company expects the record-sized crops harvested this fall will require more fertilizer to replenish soil nutrients on farmland.


AHEAD


--The CFTC will release its Commitment of Traders report covering the week ended Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

--The USDA will release its weekly Grain Export Inspections report at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

--The USDA will release its monthly WASDE report at noon ET Tuesday.

--The CFTC will release its Commitment of Traders report covering the week ended Nov. 4 at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-04-25 1506ET