Grain futures choppy in positioning ahead of USDA reports

CBOT corn Cv1 settled 1/4 cent lower to $4.61-3/4 a bushel, while soybeans Sv1 ended 3-1/4 cents higher to $11.79-1/2 per bushel.

"The markets are in waiting and in pre-report positioning ahead of the USDA report on Wednesday. The biggest debate is probably over acreage — those are the defining numbers," said Dan Basse, president of AgResource Company.

Grain markets were recovering from multiweek lows struck last week, helped by weakness in the dollar =USD and a rebound in oil due to uncertainty over a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, wheat prices are well below highs of more than $7 a bushel hit last month when Black Sea export disruptions began, but are still up nearly 30% so far this year.

Market participants are grappling with the impact of severe July weather on U.S. corn crops, though the return of rain in the past week has eased worries about yield losses.

Chicago Board of Trade grain futures seesawed on Monday as traders adjusted positions ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's widely anticipated supply and demand report on Wednesday, where the agency will release crop production and acreage estimates.

Wheat futures gained some support as war risks to massive Black Sea exports hung over the market. The most-traded wheat contract Wv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade settled 3/4 cent higher to $6.40-1/2 per bushel.

Ukraine has cut its grain export forecast for the 2026/27 July-June season by up to 12% from a previous projection, its agriculture minister told Reuters on Monday, citing Russian attacks on the country's southern Odesa port hub. The lower grain export forecast underscores the damage inflicted by attacks on a country that ships more than 90% of its grain exports through the seaports. Agricultural products account for the largest share of Ukraine's overall exports.