By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for March delivery rose 1.8% to $5.58 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, in response to estimates issued by the Canadian government showing a slightly smaller-than-expected crop in domestic crops.

--Corn for March delivery rose 1.4% to $4.36 a bushel.

--Soybeans for January delivery rose 1% to $9.94 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Supply Squeeze: Wheat trading was boosted by data from Statistics Canada showing higher-than-forecast production in December, but less than expected by analysts. The Canadian government pegged the nation's wheat production at 34.96 million metric tons. While that was up from the estimate for September of 34.29 million tons, it was less than the anticipated production of more than 35 million tons in the last month of the year. The slightly smaller supply outlook gave futures a boost Thursday.

Vegetable Oil Complex: CBOT soybeans got a boost from strength seen in vegetable oil prices. Palm oil prices surged to two-year highs this week after Indonesia committed to a three-year plan to raise its palm oil-based biodiesel mandate to 50% of its gas oil supply by 2028. By closing the gap between palm oil and soyoil prices, the latter is now looking more competitive, said Arlan Suderman of StoneX in a note.


INSIGHT


Rally Resistance: An extended rally in grain futures appears unlikely, AgResource said in a note. That's because farmers may take the opportunity to sell into the rally, said the firm. "Be prepared to catch up on 2024 cash sales on further recoveries," the firm said. The strong gains today come after days of what analysts commonly refer to as rangebound trading.

Beating the Forecast: Export sales of U.S. corn for the week ended Nov. 28 topped forecasts from analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this week. The USDA said Thursday that sales of corn across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 marketing years totaled 1.75 million metric tons. That topped the 800,000 tons to 1.55 million tons forecast by analysts. Soybean sales totaled 2.31 million tons for the week across both marketing years, and wheat sales reached 378,200 tons.


AHEAD


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

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

--The USDA will release its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report at noon ET Tuesday.


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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-05-24 1549ET