By Jeffrey T. Lewis


--Soybean for November delivery rose 1.8%, to $13.54 a bushel.

--Corn for December delivery rose 1.4%, to $4.92 1/2 a bushel.

--Wheat for September delivery rose 4.0%, to $6.39 3/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Still Hot and Dry: Corn, soybean and wheat futures moved higher amid continuing concerns over forecasts for hot, dry weather over the next few weeks. Markets are anxious to hear information from the Pro Farmer tour regarding the state of the soybean and corn crops, said Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage in a research note.

Corn to Mexico: The Department of Agriculture reports a sale of 112,000 metric tons of corn for delivery to Mexico during marketing year 2023/2024. The USDA said Thursday that corn sales for 2023/2024 declined to 704,700 metric tons in the week ended Aug. 10 from 758,400 tons a week earlier.


INSIGHTS


Yes It Can: "The question the shorts are asking themselves this morning is: 'can the forecast get any drier than this?'," said Charlie Sernatinger of Marex Capital. There isn't a lot of news moving markets in the dog days of summer, he said. A Chinese delegation is going to New York next week, likely to sign frame contracts on soybeans, and there's talk of a Black Sea feed wheat sold into the new U.S., he added.

Brazil To China: A slowdown in the Chinese economy is hurting Brazilian iron-ore exports, but the Latin American nation's exports of soybeans and other food products to China remain robust and it is unlikely to change, TS Lombard's Elizabeth Johnson and Wilson Ferrarezi say in a report. "China will continue to need to source agricultural commodities from abroad," they say. Johnson and Ferrarezi add Brazil exported $35.8 billion and agricultural products to China in the first seven months of the year, up 8.2% from a year earlier. They note that Brazil is working to reduce its dependence on China. "Brazil will continue to meet a growing share of global agricultural commodity demand."


AHEAD


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

--The USDA will release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. ET Monday.

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

--The USDA will release its monthly Cold Storage report at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.


Write to Jeffrey T. Lewis at jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-18-23 1529ET