By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for March delivery fell 0.6%, to $7.65 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, with traders unimpressed with the amount of wheat sales reported by the USDA this morning.

--Corn for March delivery fell 0.1% to $6.77 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for March delivery rose 0.1% to $15.27 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Underwhelming Wheat Sales: Grain futures on the CBOT drifted lower throughout the session, with today's export sales report from the USDA doing little to excite traders. "U.S. export sales were decent for corn, meal and soybeans but disappointing for wheat," said AgResource in a note. For the week ended Feb. 9, the USDA reported that export sales of U.S. wheat totaled 232,800 metric tons across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 marketing years, corn came in at 1.12 million tons, and soybeans totaled 771,900 tons. All three of these fell within trader forecasts.

Adjusting Focus: Grain traders have gradually relaxed their focus on weather conditions in Argentina - allowing futures to drift lower today, Rich Nelson of Allendale Inc. told the WSJ. Conditions are expected to stay mostly dry there, with some showers expected heading into next week, according to a forecast from DTN. However, with the Brazilian harvest underway and Argentinian harvest soon to begin, weather will be less of a factor on crop health.


INSIGHT


Future Forecast: The latest forecast from the U.S. Climate Prediction Center is showing normalized weather conditions for U.S. crop-growing areas. According to its outlook, normal temperatures and precipitation are expected throughout much of the western Corn Belt this summer, with higher rainfall expected in the eastern Corn Belt. "This forecast fits with the death of La Nina," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX in a note. "It would be foolish to guarantee the type of growing season that we will have in the Midwest this summer, but the death of La Nina significantly reduces the odds of a broader drought in the Midwest during the growing season."

Fertile Climate: Canadian fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd. said it expects the global supply shortages that drove up fertilizer prices in 2022 to persist in 2023. CEO Ken Seitz said in an earnings release that despite a tight supply and higher prices, the company expects demand from farmers for its fertilizer products to be higher in 2023. "The outlook for our business is strong," he said. The company expects crop acreage in the U.S. to grow about 4% in 2023 from the prior year and sees a more normal planting season.


AHEAD


--Deere & Co. will release its first-quarter earnings report on Friday.

--The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

--The USDA and the CME will be closed in observance of President's Day on Monday, reopening Tuesday.


Patrick Thomas contributed to this article.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

02-16-23 1547ET