NEW YORK: Chicago wheat futures rose sharply on Thursday, rebounding from the prior session’s six-month low, buoyed by a weak dollar and talk of a pick-up in demand following the recent decline in prices.

Corn prices also regained ground after falling earlier in the week while soybeans rose sharply.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 2.1% at $7.79-1/2 a bushel by 1640 GMT after dropping to its lowest since early February at $7.52 a bushel on Wednesday.

Dealers noted the market was keeping a close watch on developments in Ukraine as grain begins to move out of its seaports for the first time since February, albeit at a slow pace.

A Turkish bulk carrier is expected to arrive in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk on Friday and will be the first vessel to arrive at a Ukrainian port during Russia’s invasion, a spokesperson for the regional administration of Odesa said.

Dealers noted, however, there remained major challenges to overcome before large volumes could be shipped out of one of the world’s top exporters of both wheat and corn.

The most active CBOT corn contract rose 1.3% to $6.03-3/4 a bushel as the market kept a close watch on the weather in the US Midwest. A cooling in temperatures contributed to a fall in prices earlier this week although there remain concerns about hot, dry weather in the region.

Weather service Maxar in a report on Thursday said its 6-10 outlook indicated drier weather in the central and northeastern Midwest although rains in the Delta and southeastern Midwest should improve moisture for corn and soybean crops.