By Kirk Maltais


--Wheat for December delivery rose 2.8% to $8.10 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Friday, with fund traders turning toward grain futures after Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that peak inflation may not have yet been reached.

--Soybeans for November delivery rose 2.3% to $14.64 3/4 a bushel.

--Corn for December delivery rose 2.3% to $6.65 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


The Fight Continues: Grain futures on the CBOT were supported Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks that interest rate hikes are not expected to subside, nor is the Fed convinced that peak inflation has been reached. For grains, which is tied closely to inflation via consumer food prices, movement by the Fed is closely watched. "I think we were thrown a little curveball by Mr. Powell," Jason Britt of Central States Commodities told the WSJ. Wheat futures have been more sensitive to movement in the U.S. Dollar index, with the ICE index up 0.3%.

No Biggie: Thursday's release and subsequent retraction of weekly export sales data by the USDA, which was using a new system implemented by the agency's Foreign Agricultural Service, is seen as only a blip in traders' view of current prices, grain traders tell the WSJ. "I think the retraction means very little," said Brian Pullam of Linn & Associates, who says that the USDA's explanation about difficulties with a new system being implemented this week is being generally accepted among traders. The USDA has announced a new flash sale of soybeans to unknown destinations this morning, but has not yet posted revised weekly data.


INSIGHTS


Final Cut: In its final analysis of its Crop Tour survey released after the market's close, Pro Farmer forecast that U.S. corn yields will average 168.1 bushels per acre--down from the USDA's latest forecast of 175.4 bushels per acre released earlier this month. Meanwhile, average yields for soybeans are seen at 51.7 bushels per acre, which is only down 0.2 bushel from the USDA's WASDE forecast. "The question heading into Crop Tour was whether there would be enough bushels in the eastern Corn Belt to offset the bushels lost in the drier western areas," Brian Grete, an editor with Pro Farmer and leader of the eastern leg of the tour, told the WSJ. "After Crop Tour, the answer is clearly there won't be enough in the east to offset the west...not nearly enough."

Back to Basics: With the USDA retracting its weekly export sales report Thursday, grain traders appear to have reverted back to trading on the weather outlook worldwide. "Half of China is now thought to be experiencing some type of drought," said Terry Reilly of Futures International in a note. "French corn crop conditions as of Aug. 22 fell 3 points to 47%." This combined with the Crop Tour results this week may be a strong influence on futures next week.


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 EIA will release its monthly biofuel feedstock report Wednesday afternoon.

--The USDA will release its monthly agricultural prices report at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-26-22 1510ET