By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for July delivery rose 0.6%, to $5.94 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday, turning around as bargain hunters came in looking for deals after an onslaught of fund selling.

--Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.3% to $12.99 3/4 a bushel.

--Corn for July delivery was unchanged at $5.94 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Perfect Timing: Grain traders picked their spot to buy into grains at a discount on Wednesday, waiting until fund selling subsided and short-covering began to bid the contract back up. Uncertainty in the weather forecast for the Corn Belt is seen as a factor potentially lifting futures in the coming days. "If the funds shift back to watching U.S. weather, we could see a good amount of short covering," Futures International's Terry Reilly said.

Positive Forecast: Scattered rainfall looks favorable for U.S. crop development, agricultural research firm DTN said. Its forecast calls for the Northern and Southern Plains to receive rainfall throughout the week, ultimately easing drought conditions, particularly in the south. However, DTN notes, the forecast is open to interpretation -- a fact seized on by bargain hunters later in the day. "A couple of fronts should bring more focused showers to areas of the Midwest, but models are having a tough time working out the details," DTN said.

Decline Overseas: Soft palm oil futures in Asia translated into pressure on soybeans and soy products for much of the day. For both soy and palm oil the weakness stems from lower crude oil prices, which makes these ingredients for biofuels less attractive from a price perspective. Other factors like weak Chinese economic data also pressured soybeans, said Steve Freed of ADM Investor Services in a note.


INSIGHT


Balancing Act: The prices farmers are getting to sell their crops may take a hit this year thanks to rising costs for grain elevators. Agricultural lender CoBank said in a report that the combination of higher interest rates, operating costs and commodity prices means grain elevator operators maybe unwilling to offer the profitable basis -- the local premium over futures prices for spot grain deliveries -- that they've been offering this year. "For grain elevators, the sharp rise in interest rates couldn't have come at a worse time as they borrow higher-priced funds on commodities that have also remained at historically high prices," CoBank's Tanner Ehmke said.

That's a Wrap: The USDA's latest Crop Progress figures showed plantings nearing the finish line with little in the way of inclement weather to hold them off. Nationwide, 92% of the U.S. corn crop has been planted, up from the four-year average of 84%. Soybeans are 83% planted, up from the average of 65% seen during the same period. The USDA also released its first weekly assessment of the corn crop's condition, grading 69% of it as excellent or good, down from 73% at this time last year.


AHEAD


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

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

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

05-31-23 1608ET