By Kirk Maltais

 

--Soybeans for May delivery eked out a 0.3% gain to $8.95 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Thursday, helped by moves in Argentina to curb exports.

--Wheat for May delivery fell 1.5% to $5.27 1/2 a bushel.

--Corn for May delivery fell 1.7% to $3.68 a bushel.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Regaining Composure: While most markets slid on worries about the coronavirus epidemic, soybeans were supported by speculation about reduced shipments from Argentina if the government raises export taxes as expected. In addition, China, a major soybean buyer, is seeing some improvement on the virus front. "China at least is showing a drop in new cases and deaths, with experts there believing the virus can be controlled by the end of April," said Arlan Suderman of INTL FCStone. April is when China is expected to begin buying U.S. agricultural goods in earnest as part of the phase one trade deal.

Demand Slammed: Wheat and soybean export sales fell short of projections of traders polled by The Wall Street Journal, with wheat sales totaling 381,800 metric tons and soybeans totaling 339,300 tons, according to the USDA's latest report. Soybeans missed the low end of trader targets by more than 200,000 tons, and new Chinese purchases totaled only 71,700 tons.

 

INSIGHT

 

Fuel Threat: Sliding oil prices -- with U.S. crude trading at its lowest level in more than a year on concerns about the spread of coronavirus -- is likely to become a drag on ethanol demand in the U.S., RJO Futures said. Gasoline futures are also at their lowest since January 2019, making ethanol less attractive. Traders will be watching the EIA's weekly data for any sign of a pullback in ethanol production.

 

AHEAD

 

--The CFTC releases its weekly commitment of traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

--The USDA releases its weekly grain export inspections data at 11 a.m. ET Monday.

--The USDA releases its monthly grain crushings report and annual summary at 3 p.m. ET on Monday.

 

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2020 16:03 ET (21:03 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.