By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for March delivery rose 1.6% to $5.16 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday, as bitter cold hits winter-wheat growing areas potentially causing crop damage.

--Corn for March delivery rose 0.5% to $4.24 a bushel.

--Soybeans for March delivery fell 0.1% to $10.64 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Winterkill Woes: Wheat futures turned around after trading lower yesterday, with the winter wheat crop being hit from a winter storm passing through the U.S. and bringing subzero temperatures with it. "It is uncomfortably cold over the Midwest," said Charlie Sernatinger of Marex in a note. "With bitter cold continuing for the next ten days at least." This weather is sparking fears about potential winter kill, although that depends on how much snow cover these crops already have.

Air of Uncertainty: Global markets were relieved that U.S. military or trade actions to take over Greenland has been taken off the table by President Trump, which gave markets some positive support. But the unknowns around Greenland remain a concern. Capital.com's Daniela Hathorn said today that "the broader diplomatic episode is still unresolved," as negotiations go on with few details surfacing so far. "From a market's perspective, clarity matters more than outcome in the short run," Hathorn said. Ongoing uncertainty around trade relationships, NATO cohesion, Arctic strategy and U.S.-EU diplomatic dynamics "means that sentiment remains sensitive to headlines and could be volatile if new twists emerge."

Early Enthusiasm: Hopes that the U.S. government finalizing regulations favorable to the agricultural sector regarding renewable fuels lifted grain futures early in the trading session. Hopes of news about E15 being included in a bill to avert another government shutdown and the EPA releasing final regulations about biofuel blending was the catalyst for higher trading early - although news later in the morning that language about E15 was taken out of the bill pumped the brakes on that optimism.


INSIGHT


Excluded from the Proceedings: Language allowing for year-round E15 sales nationwide was left off a budget bill in the House of Representatives, taking a lifeline off the table for U.S. farmers saddled with a record-high U.S. corn crop. "Kicking the can down the road and creating a new council to study future legislative options just exacerbates the uncertainty and apprehension already being felt across rural America," said Geoff Cooper of the Renewable Fuels Association in a press release. "Farmers need real solutions right now, not more foot-dragging and more debate."

Surging Stocks: Inventories of ethanol in the U.S. have risen to their highest level since last April, the EIA said Thursday. The EIA said total ethanol inventories were 25.74 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 16. That's up nearly 1.3 million barrels from last week, and well beyond the estimates of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones this week - who forecast stocks between 24 million barrels and 24.9 million barrels.


AHEAD


--The USDA will release its weekly Export Sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday.

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

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

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


Paulo Trevisani contributed to this article.

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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-22-26 1535ET