CHICAGO: US soybean futures rallied on Wednesday on expectations that robust demand from both the domestic and export sectors will keep supplies tight until harvest in the fall, traders said.

Corn futures rose on support from strength in the cash market while wheat eased after firming during the overnight trading session.

The most-active Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures contract neared the 10-year high hit in February, with gains in the crude oil market adding to the bullish tone.

“Soybean exports have been a bit disappointing lately, but we expect that to change as the summer progresses and the world runs out of supplies and is forced to come the US,” Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage, said in a note to clients. “At the same time US farmers are either tight holders of soybeans or just flat out don’t have any to sell.” At 10:57 a.m. CDT (1557 GMT), CBOT July soybean futures were up 21 cents a bushel at $17.49-1/4. Prices peaked at $17.58, just 1-1/4 cents lower than February’s high.

CBOT July corn was up 8-1/2 cents at $7.65-1/2 a bushel and CBOT July soft red winter wheat was down 1-1/4 cents at $10.70-1/2 a bushel. Wheat has fluctuated throughout the week, jumping 5% on Monday before falling back nearly 2% on Tuesday, as traders assessed news about potential exports from Ukraine.

“Volatility remains high in a market still driven by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict,” consultancy Agritel said.

Turkey’s foreign minister said a UN plan to ease a global food crisis by restarting Ukrainian grain exports along a sea corridor was “reasonable”, and required more talks with Moscow and Kyiv to ensure ships’ safety.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Russian assurances it would not take advantage of a port reopening for its military campaign were “empty words”.