Grains are mostly higher at midday:

July Corn + 13 3/4 cents/bu (7.40 3/4)

July Soybeans -2 1/2 cents/bu (16.95 1/4) ßBelow the $17 threshold again

July Chi Wheat + 54 3/4 cents/bu (11.06 1/2)

Cdn $ +0.00020 (79.47 cents)

WTI Crude Oil -0.24 (118.63)

The U.S. grain export inspections report was released this morning for the week ending June 2nd. Corn was on the higher end of expectations, while wheat was on the low end, and soybeans fell short. Marketing year to date corn export shipments exceed the seasonal pace needed to hit USDA's target by 98 million bushels, while marketing year soybean export shipments to date fall short of the seasonal pace needed to hit USDA's target by 27 million bushels.

Wheat has once again propelled higher after the Putin government’s failure to keep up their “good-guy” façade. Last week, Russia was in the news for being aimable and making progress in discussions to letting Ukraine continue to safely export grain out of their ports. This charade was easy to see-through over the weekend as bombings on Ukraine escalated- including one on a major Ukrainian grain export terminal. This was enough for the trade to add some “war-premium” back into grain prices. President Zelenskyy noted that their country has 75 million tonnes of grain that could be stuck in the country this fall, and he pleaded with Western countries for support shipping the grain, and providing weapons. This current inability to move grain is provoking fear in countries regarding global hunger. By extension, Reuters posted an article today showing that biofuel mandates may lessen in the short-term as grain for food trumps grain for ethanol or soyoil.

Later this afternoon, the USDA will release its Weekly Crop Progress Report, with the trade anxiously looking for updates on seeding progress in the NW Midwest. The first corn condition rating will also be released today, which given the weather lately, is expected to be very favourable. The average corn condition for this week is 68-69%.