By Paulo Trevisani

--Soybeans for March delivery fell 0.9% to $15.09 1/2 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Friday, as traders brace for Brazilian and Argentine supplies hitting export markets.

--Wheat for March delivery fell 0.3% to $7.50 a bushel.

--Corn for March delivery rose 0.1% to $6.83 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Southern Soy: The decline in soybean futures can be attributed to "the prospect of improved Brazilian hedge pressure due to their expanding harvest," AgResource said in a report, which also cited soaking rain across key crop areas in Argentina. The rainfall is expected to boost Argentine production, and it is forecast to persist through the weekend. AgResource also noted that "Argentine soymeal basis is starting to leak which will accelerate in the weeks ahead as Brazilian crushers receive new crop soybeans and push product into export."

Corn Breaks: "The trade seems to believe that the damage done to the Argentine crop will eventually support better demand for U.S. corn and there is also more reporting that the Ukraine corn crop may drop," Summit's Tomm Pfitzenmaier said in a report. "These concerns have the trade putting new money to work on the long side of the corn market." He expected corn to trade in a range and may even work its way up closer to $7 a bushel.

INSIGHT

Buyers to Come: Grain futures have lost steam, but RCM said it expects buyers to be attracted by price declines. "The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said desperately needed rain was expected to hit Argentine growing areas this week," the firm said in a report. "Technical trends have corn sideways with a bullish bias, beans sideways with a neutral bias, and wheat sideways with a neutral bias."

Russian Wheat: Supply in Russia "is visibly depressing wheat prices," despite uncertainties about the size of Russian crops last year, Commerzbank's Carsten Fritsch said in a note. He pointed to 2022 estimates ranging from 91 million metric tons to 104 million metric tons, while forecasts for this year are below 100 million. "A high-ranking USDA official explained that the analyses of the weather and of previous crops did not support the high crop volume predicted by Russia," Mr. Fritsch wrote. Forecasts for 2023 are between 80 million and 85 million tons but still a large crop by comparison with the long-term average" he said.

AHEAD

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

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

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

--The USDA will release its monthly grain crushings report at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

--Corteva Inc. will release its fourth quarter earnings report after the stock market closes on Wednesday.

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

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

Write to Paulo Trevisani at paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2023 15:10 ET (20:10 GMT)