By Renee Hickman

Chicago corn, wheat and soybean futures were underpinned on Thursday by U.S. planting and stocks estimates released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but prospects for beneficial crop weather in the U.S. Midwest kept a ceiling on prices, according to analysts.

Gains were additionally capped by falling oil prices ICEEUR:BRN1! and ample global grain supply.

Meanwhile, market participants were adjusting positions before the three-day Independence Day holiday weekend in the United States.

The most-active wheat contract CBOT:ZW1! on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 3/4 cent at $5.99-1/4 a bushel by 12:23 p.m. CDT (1723 GMT).

CBOT corn CBOT:ZC1! was down 1/2 cent at $4.41-3/4 a bushel and CBOT soybeans CBOT:ZS1! fell 1 cent to $11.48-1/4 a bushel.

Wheat and soybeans had set two-week lows on Tuesday while corn set contract lows on Monday.

The rebound was fueled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's planting and stocks reports on Tuesday, analysts said.

The USDA estimated 2026 U.S. wheat plantings were well below market expectations and that quarterly corn stocks were lower than trade analysts expected.

"Speculative selling was pretty heavy heading in to the report, and that ended once the report came out," said Randy Place, analyst and author at the Hightower Report.

However, the prospect of bumper wheat crops in the Black Sea export region and the arrival of large corn and soybean harvests in South America tempered supply concerns, including regarding a late-June heat wave in Europe.

In the U.S. Midwest, rains and cooler temperatures are expected to return after Friday, following a period of high heat, which is limiting concerns about crop stress, according to forecaster Commodity Weather Group.

Market talk this week about Chinese interest in U.S. soybeans added support to the oilseed market, which has been waiting for signs of large-scale purchases since a mid-May summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Traders will get an update on overseas demand from weekly U.S. export sales figures later on Thursday.