By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for March delivery rose 2.3%, to $5.99 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, continuing the wave of short-covering seen this week after the USDA reported stronger-than-expected export sales this morning.

--Corn for March delivery rose 1.4%, to $4.82 1/2 a bushel.

--Soybeans for January delivery fell 0.3%, to $13.43 a bushel


HIGHLIGHTS


Waiting for the Right Time: After dropping to multi-year lows, CBOT corn and wheat moved higher, being driven by surges in export sales reported by the USDA on Thursday. "Low prices for corn and wheat equal better weekly export sales," said Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing in a note. Corn sales totaled 1.93 million metric tons, and wheat sales were 622,800 tons, both of which were higher than forecast by analysts.

On Guard: While risk premium around the size of Brazil's soybeans crop appears mostly established, analysts are anxious about what a sudden headline could do to prices. "Soybeans continue to be focused on Brazil weather, with a great deal of uncertainty continuing to hang over the market regarding the size of the Brazil crop," said Arlan Suderman of StoneX in a note. StoneX says that it will release its latest forecasts for Brazilian crops Friday morning, which could sharply move futures in either direction.


INSIGHT


Plotting a New Course: Cover shorts amid a large net short position for corn and wheat was the big story in trading Thursday. "This could very well be bottoming action in the corn market," said Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions. "Why keep selling when the news is friendly." Hoops adds that wheat is in a similar position. CBOT corn is up 1.6%, and wheat rises 1.5%.

Wider Ratio: Russia's grain consultancy IKAR is forecasting that next year's wheat crop is going to be bigger than this year's bumper crop, although less of it is expected to leave the country's shores, according to the firm. IKAR projects that Russia's 2024/25 grain crop will be 145 million metric tons, 92 million tons being wheat. Both of these projections are higher than the past year, but exports are expected to inch lower. IKAR forecasts wheat exports to be 49 million tons, down from 51 million tons in 2023. CBOT wheat has been propelled by fund short-covering in recent sessions.


AHEAD


--The USDA will release its monthly Grain Crushings report at 3 p.m. ET Friday.

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

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


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-30-23 1503ET