By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for December delivery fell 1.9% to $5.61 1/2 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, with French stocks seen as climbing and Russian exports lingering as a force on the market.

--Corn for December delivery fell 1.4% to $4.72 a bushel.

--Soybeans for January delivery fell 0.3% to $13.86 1/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Stock Building: CBOT wheat finished down on developments in Europe, said Terry Reilly of Marex--with French wheat stocks forecast to climb to a six-year high. News of a deal between Ukraine and the U.K. to subsidize insurance for port-bound vessels is also weighing on wheat, as is the flow of Russian wheat into the export market. "Ongoing Black Sea competition added to the negative sentiment," said Reilly.

Regaining Strength: The rebound in dollar strength was a source of pressure for grains, with U.S. exports becoming more competitive when the dollar weakens. A stronger dollar means that it takes more foreign currency to equal the value of a dollar. Absent a clear trend, traders appeared stubborn to move from their positions, said Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing--citing corn as a chief example. "Corn is really trying to bottom out --but funds won't budge on exiting those short positions," said Blohm in a note.


INSIGHT


One For the Books: All three major row crops finished lower in Wednesday's session, but soybeans declined less than corn or wheat. For soybeans, one supportive factor was the monthly report from the National Oilseed Processors Association, which showed soybeans processed for the month of October at 189.8 million bushels, a record high for soybean processing, smashing the previous record of 186.4 million bushels set in December 2021. Along with other factors like South American weather issues, strength in soy products is expected to keep soybeans positive in upcoming sessions. "Soybeans are still lower on the day but the overall bullish trend there remains," said StoneX in a note.

Back in Time: Corn trading yesterday bounced off of its lowest level in three years. But that brief recovery was limited, said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives in a note. "The outlook for corn continues to be unexciting with limited producer selling interest a supportive factor while the comfortable supply outlook is an upside limiter," said Bergman--adding that if corn sustains a rally, it'll be mostly due to a sustained rally in soybeans.

Drawing Down: Stocks of ethanol in the U.S. have fallen below the 21 million barrels mark for the first time in nearly two years, according to data from the Department of Energy. In its latest weekly report, the Energy Information Administration - an arm of the Department of Energy - reported that ethanol inventories have dropped to 20.95 million barrels as of the week ended Nov. 10. In the prior week, which ended Nov. 3, they were reported at 20.99 million barrels. The EIA didn't release the report last week, due to upgrades being done to the agency's systems. Wednesday's report covers two weeks worth of data.


AHEAD


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

--The USDA will release its monthly Cattle on Feed report at 3 p.m. ET Friday.

--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

11-15-23 1513ET