US soyabeans firmed on Thursday on signs of resurgent export demand but corn drifted lower in subdued trade as the market awaited key monthly reports due Friday from the US Department of Agriculture. Wheat fell on plentiful supplies and technical selling, despite better-than-expected weekly export sales data. At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 1:02 pm CDT (1803 GMT), November soyabeans were up 2 cents at $9.84-1/4 per bushel. December corn was down 1 cent at $3.32 a bushel and September wheat was down 5-1/2 cents at $4.16-1/4 a bushel.
Soyabeans rose after the USDA reported export sales of US soyabeans totalling more than 3 million tonnes in the week to August 4, topping analysts' expectations. In addition, the USDA confirmed sales in the last day of 129,000 tonnes of US soyabeans to unknown destinations and another 120,000 to China. A more than 4 percent jump in crude oil lent support to the commodities sector. The 19-market Thomson Reuters CoreCommodity CRB Index rose almost 1.5 percent.
However, upside momentum was limited in grains trade as brokers positioned for the USDA's monthly supply/demand reports, which will include the government's first estimates of US 2016 corn and soyabean yield based on field surveys. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the government to raise its corn and soyabean yield estimates, but increased export demand for soyabeans could prompt the USDA to trim its ending stocks forecasts.
Wheat futures fell by a few cents a bushel on technical selling and ample global supplies. The market shrugged as USDA reported weekly export sales of US wheat above 600,000 tonnes, a five-week high that topped trade expectations. Strategie Grains on Thursday slashed its forecasts for European Union soft wheat production and exports this season as the analyst firm factored in a "disastrous" harvest in France where it sees weather-hit yields at a 29-year low.