By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for September delivery rose 2.8%, to $5.89 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, with a turnaround being sparked by forecasts for reduced Russian production in the 2024/25 marketing year.

--Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.7%, to $11.11 1/4 a bushel.

--Corn for December delivery rose 0.2%, to $4.21 1/2 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Production Issues: Wheat started climbing at the market's open Monday, supported by continued weather issues in Russia, which is reducing the expected output from the world's leading exporter of the grain. "The wheat buying interest is based on acute heat/dryness across the Black Sea and southeastern Europe, where spring crops find themselves in a deepening drought cycle with another round of intense heat forecast into mid-July," said AgResource in a note. It is a turnaround in focus from Friday's Acreage and Quarterly Stock reports from the USDA, which showed potentially larger crops than anticipated by traders and analysts.

Change in Plans: Mexico's incoming administration will drop plans to phase out imports of genetically modified yellow corn and instead seek to maintain self-sufficiency in white corn, which is used for making tortillas, Reuters reports, citing incoming Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue. A proposed ban on GM corn, which was later limited to corn for human consumption, sparked a trade dispute with the U.S. The news's proliferation through the market helped lift corn futures late in the session, with traders hoping for improved corn export sales.


INSIGHT


Glossing Over: Friday's slate of reports from the USDA may not have included the full extent of the recent weather turmoil seen in June, Daniel Flynn of Price Futures Group said in a note. "I...believe Friday's report did not systemize the damage of recent weather, whether drought, flooding and heavy rain & high winds," Flynn said. "I expect a reality check in the next upcoming reports." The next major report from the USDA is the July WASDE, which is expected to provide updates regarding crop yields and production. The report is due out July 12.

Growing Shorts: The CFTC's Commitments of Traders report Friday showed fund traders adding more shorts to their already-sizable short positions. Corn shorts grew by over 60,000 contracts, with longs dropping over 25,000 contracts, making a net short of nearly 280,000 contracts. Soybean and wheat shorts also grew among fund traders, with the data accurate up to June 25, before the USDA released its Acreage and Quarterly Stocks reports that showed higher corn acreage and higher stocks across the board.


AHEAD


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

--The USDA and Chicago Board of Trade will be closed in observance of Independence Day. Both will reopen on Friday.

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


--Anthony Harrup contributed to this article.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-01-24 1528ET