By Kirk Maltais


-- Corn for July delivery fell 0.9% to $4.50 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Friday, with parched soils in the western Plains looking to get a much-needed drink that will make corn planting easier.

-- Wheat for July delivery fell 0.9% to $5.79 1/2 a bushel.

-- Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.7% to $11.89 3/4 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Turning on the Faucet: Thursday's WASDE report kept the supply and demand picture for U.S. crops mostly unchanged, leaving traders to hone their focus on how the weather unfolds for farmers wanting to plant in areas of the country that have very dry soils.

"The trade is still focused on oncoming Plains rains rather than existing dire conditions, and hefty corn supplies rather than a dismal early fieldwork forecast," said Matt Zeller of StoneX in a note.

Set Aside: Grain traders were quick to set aside Thursday's WASDE report to focus on weather in the coming weeks and pare Iran war risks.

"It's mostly positioning and squaring ahead of weekend meetings in Pakistan," said Karl Setzer of Consus Ag Consulting. "Nobody wants to have a weak position into the weekend with this going on."

Outlets for Demand: The USDA announced a new set of flash sales of U.S. grain exports Friday morning. Italy purchased 100,000 metric tons of U.S. soybean cake and meal for delivery in the 2025-26 marketing year, in addition to 125,640 tons of corn sold to unknown destinations.

This generated some excitement, as Italy "isn't a traditional buyer of enough quantity to generate a daily sales announcement," said Brian Grete of Commstock Investments. Soymeal closed up 3.7%.


INSIGHT


Around the Corner: The next scheduled meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi is coming in May, and traders are hoping the summit will result in additional soybean purchases by China.

This may be one reason CBOT soybean futures found support Friday, while corn and wheat have been under pressure, said Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions. The change made in Thursday's WASDE report raising domestic soybean crush while decreasing export sales projections was one of the only changes made by the USDA, catching traders' eyes, said Hoops.

Relief Valve: Persian Gulf oil buyers might have to rely on domestic storage and alternative supplies for another month even if flows through the Strait of Hormuz ramp up in the coming days, analysts at Goldman Sachs say. Because of long shipping times, any improvement in shipping conditions will take weeks to be felt materially.

For farmers, higher fuel costs look to only make their budget for crop planting this spring even slimmer.


AHEAD


-- The USDA is scheduled to release its weekly grain export inspections report at 11 a.m. EDT Monday.

-- The USDA is due to release its weekly crop progress report at 4 p.m. EDT Monday.

-- The EIA is scheduled to release its Weekly Petroleum Status Update Report at 10:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.


-- Giulia Petroni contributed to this article.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-10-26 1541ET