US wheat futures firmed on Thursday, with the benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract hitting its highest in more than two weeks on signs of better-than-expected export demand. Soyabeans eased, snapping a rally on Wednesday as large global inventories and a favourable outlook for South America crops cast a bearish tone on the market. Corn edged slightly higher.
Wheat, on track for its third straight day of gains, had traded lower during the overnight session, turned higher after a US Agriculture Department report showed that weekly export sales topped expectations.
At 10:21 a.m. CST (1621 GMT), CBOT soft red winter wheat for March delivery, was up 3/4 cent at $4.34-1/2 a bushel. Prices peaked at $4.37-3/4, their highest since January 17, earlier in the session.
USDA said weekly old-crop export sales of wheat totalled 451,200 tonnes. Analysts' forecasts for weekly old-crop export sales wheat ranged from 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes. New-crop wheat export sales were 59,000 tonnes, in line with market expectations.
But the gains in wheat were capped by plentiful global supplies as well as expectations that winter weather in the northern hemisphere will do little damage to the dormant crop.
CBOT March corn was 1/2 cent higher at $3.68-3/4 a bushel. Corn fluctuated between positive and negative territory, with the March contract failed to hold support above its 200-day moving average, a key technical point it has not closed above since June 23.
CBOT March soyabeans were down 3-1/2 cents at $10.33-1/2 a bushel.
Soyabeans, which climbed to a six-month high last month, are coming under pressure as weather improves in Argentina, while harvesting in Brazil is on track for a record crop of more than 100 million tonnes.
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