By Kirk Maltais

--Soybeans for July delivery fell 2.3% to $15.08 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday as traders sold following a fresh wave of rainfall in Midwestern growing areas.

--Corn for July delivery fell 2.1% to $6.84 1/2 a bushel.

--Wheat for July delivery fell 0.4% to $6.80 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Rain Rebound: A new round of overnight Midwest rainfall was the chief source of pressure for grain futures on the CBOT today. "Futures are broadly weaker on a cold front that passed across the Dakotas producing needed rainfall," said AgResource. Monday's crop progress report should provide further indication on whether or not these rains helped bolster crop health.

Soy It Ain't So!: Soybean futures led row crops lower for most of the day Friday with weakness especially seen in soyoil futures. "Soybean oil is down sharply after Reuters put out a story that the White House is looking into providing relief to oil refiners impacted by high cost RIN prices amid biofuel blending mandates," said Terry Reilly of Futures International. For soyoil, the 4.9% decline in most-active futures took the contract down from an all-time high set in the past week - with shortness of vegetable oil supplies worldwide and interest from the renewable fuels markets being the main drivers for the runup.

Dollar Muscle: An additional factor weighing on grains was an uptick in the U.S. dollar, according to Arlan Suderman of StoneX. The WSJ Dollar Index was up 0.6% today, a sharp jump after a generally steady week for the dollar amid higher Treasury yields and inflation concerns. Mr. Suderman also pointed to those midwest rains and that report of possible Biden Administration actions that could cut biofuel demand, for weakness in grains today.

INSIGHTS

Fresh Focus: Grain traders, having absorbed the impact of Thursday's WASDE report, are now turning their attention toward the USDA's end of month acreage report -- which will show the amount of row crops U.S. farmers planted this spring. "The big report is on the 30th, that's where they will change acreage," said John Payne of Daniels Trading. Traders believe the report will likely show higher planted acreage than initially forecast. The USDA currently predicts planted corn acreage at 91.1 million acres, soybeans at 87.6 million acres, and wheat at 46.4 million acres.

Flagging Feed: Prices for dried distillers' grains - a byproduct of ethanol production commonly used for animal feed - have fallen in the past week to an average of $206 per ton, which is down $3 per ton from the previous week, according to data from DTN. "Increased plant production is adding more supply and buyers have pulled away from the spot market," said DTN's Mary Kennedy. On Wednesday, the EIA reported that daily ethanol production had risen to 1.07 million barrels per day, which is the highest rate of production since February of last year.

AHEAD:

--The USDA will release its weekly 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.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 11, 2021 15:38 ET (19:38 GMT)