By Kirk Maltais

-Soybeans for November delivery rose 3.8% at $11.90 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, with hot and dry conditions expected in the Corn Belt over the next two weeks.

-Corn for December delivery rose 3.8% to $4.58 1/4 a bushel.

-Wheat for September delivery rose 2.3% to $6.13 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Cranked Heat: The National Weather Service projects elevated temperatures spanning the U.S. Corn Belt, while below-usual precipitation blankets most of the prime farming states in the middle of the country. The NWS's Climate Prediction Center said that below-normal rainfall is expected to be the case for a large area ranging from western North Dakota to central Tennessee, covering most Corn Belt states except for roughly half of Indiana and Ohio. This is expected to be seen through next week, according to the NWS.

Holding Out Hope: On top of a changing weather forecast, continued hopes for China to begin buying U.S. crop exports en masse gave soybeans a boost today. "That has shifted momentum in the bulls' favor coming out of the holiday weekend," said Brian Grete of Commstock Investments. No new flash sales were announced by the USDA this morning.

INSIGHT

The World View: Production issues from bad weather affected crop prices Monday, with other growing areas of the world struggling along with the U.S., according to analyst Terry Reilly. "Bulls are back after the long holiday weekend [with] poorer French grain crop conditions and renewed optimism [on] outlooks for improving global economic prospects," Reilly said, referencing the unusually hot conditions that have walloped Europe.

Help Line: Prices of one of the biggest ingredients in fertilizers, urea, are down sharply. They hit a year-high of $866 a ton in late April/early May in the midst of the U.S.-Iran war, but sank as of late June to $720 a ton, a decline of nearly 17%. While prices are now easing, the U.S. government last week announced it would help deal with any onerous costs. Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins announced $500 million in new aid designed to offset the rise in fertilizer prices.

AHEAD

-The EIA will release its Weekly Petroleum Status Update report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

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

-The USDA will release its monthly WASDE report at noon ET Friday.

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

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