Wheat edges higher after nearing 9-month low

CHICAGO: US wheat futures edged higher on Thursday, in a rebound from a nearly nine-month low and as traders waited for the government to update supply estimates.

Traders bought back some previously sold positions the day after the most-active wheat contract suffered its biggest one-day drop in nearly four months.

Corn also stabilized the day after it recorded its biggest daily loss in almost six months.

"Positioning ahead of the reports tomorrow will likely dominate the trade," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, an analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage.

Traders are waiting for the US Department of Agriculture to issue monthly estimates for crop inventories at 11 a.m. CST ( 1700 GMT) Fr iday.

They remain uneasy about tight old-crop supplies, even though prices tumbled on Wednesday on expectations that recent US rains will boost upcoming harvests.

"We regard the rapid fall in wheat and corn prices as excessive and fundamentally unjustified," Commerzbank said in a note. "Tomorrow's USDA estimates are likely to show that available supply is still tight."

Analysts, on average, expect the USDA to increase its estimates for US wheat and corn supplies slightly from last month and trim its outlook for soybean supplies, according to a poll by Reuters.

Chicago Board of Trade May wheat rose 0.3 percent to $6.85-3/4 a bushel by 11:25 CST (1725 GMT), having closed down 3.2 percent on Wednesday. March wheat was up 0.1 percent at $6.77 a bushel after falling to its lowest level in more than eight months in earlier trading.

May corn slipped 0.4 percent to $6.86 a bushel after sliding 2.9 percent in the previous session. May soybeans gained 0.2 percent to $14.69, having closed near flat on Wednesday.