US soyabean futures fell to fresh contract lows on Wednesday, pressured by sluggish exports and worries that rain-delayed US corn seeding would expand the number of acres planted with soyabeans, which can be sown later in the spring.
Corn futures firmed as soggy fields around much of the Midwest and forecasts for more rain over the next two weeks appeared likely to keep planting of the grain well behind the desired pace.
Wheat rebounded from two sessions of losses that took prices to contract lows, lifted by short covering and concerns about delayed spring wheat planting.
The US Department of Agriculture said this week that 15 percent of the US corn crop had been planted as of April 28, in line with a year ago but well behind the average pace of 27 percent.
Above normal precipitation and cool temperatures were expected throughout much of the corn belt over the next 15 days, Kyle Tapley, meteorologist with Radiant Solutions, said in a weather outlook note.
If planting delays stretch into late May, some farmers may switch acres from corn to later-planted soya at a time when supplies are already plentiful and demand for US beans remains uncertain amid a still-unresolved trade war with China.
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) July soyabeans were down 4 cents at $8.50 a bushel at 12:12 p.m. CDT (1712 GMT) after notching a contract low of $8.44-1/4. All contracts hit fresh lows or were within a few cents of new lows.
July corn rose 4-1/4 cents to $3.66-3/4 a bushel, while CBOT July wheat gained 5-1/4 cents to $4.34 a bushel.
Abundant global soyabean supplies, bolstered by bumper harvests in rival exporters Brazil and Argentina, have hung over the soya prices while US and Chinese officials negotiate an end to a nearly year-long trade war that has slashed US commodity exports to China.
The two nations held "productive" trade talks in Beijing on Wednesday and will continue discussions in Washington next week, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
A trade deal could trigger accelerated US commodities purchases by China, which would help whittle down massive stockpiles of crops such as soyabeans, corn and wheat.
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