US soyabean futures rose on Thursday on signs of renewed demand from top buyer China as well as a weakening dollar, traders said. Corn and wheat futures rose from near one-month lows on a round of bargain buying and hopes for improved export interest as strong European bond auctions eased concerns over the region's debt crisis.
"A smattering of export activity as of late is making it seem like spot corn/wheat prices starting with a '5' are an absolute bargain," Matt Zeller, analyst with INTL FCStone said in a research note to clients. The US Agriculture Department said exporters sold US corn to Mexico and South Korea.
China booked 120,000 tonnes of US soyabeans and there was talk of more purchases coming soon due to a slow harvest of early-planted soyabeans in Brazil, the world's No 2 exporter of the oilseed after the United States. At 11:30 am CST (1603 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March soyabean futures were up 9 cents at $11.92-1/2 a bushel. CBOT March wheat was up 6-1/4 cents at $5.98-1/2 a bushel and CBOT March corn was up 6-3/4 cents at $6.00-1/4 a bushel.