US wheat futures climbed to a one-week high early on Monday on short-covering and concerns about the possibility that Russia might limit exports, traders said. Soyabeans climbed, led by soyameal, while corn was little changed.
At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 12:40 pm CST (1840 GMT), March wheat was up 6-3/4 cents at $4.82-1/4 per bushel. March soyabeans were up 4-1/2 cents at $8.81, and March corn was down 1/4 cent at $3.70.
Wheat futures rose on technical buying and fund short-covering after the Interfax news agency reported that Russia's agriculture ministry was considering tougher grain export limits due to rising pork prices.
Despite an existing wheat export duty, Russia's grain exports hit a record in December due to the weakening rouble.
Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions said Russia's export curb had been rumoured in the past.
Commodity funds hold a historically large net short position in CBOT wheat, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering.
The market drew additional support from worries about cold weekend weather in parts of Russia, Ukraine and China that may have threatened winter wheat crops.
A cold snap that hit Europe early this month damaged crops in the eastern part of the bloc and Ukraine, crop monitoring unit MARS said.
Soyabean futures rose on concerns about dryness in Argentina's crop belt and on chart-based strength in soyameal. CBOT March soyameal dipped to $268.40 per short ton earlier but failed to match last week's low of $268.10, triggering some technical buying.
CBOT corn was nearly unchanged, retreating after the March contract reached $3.72-1/2, a one-month high.
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