CHICAGO: US soybean future surged 2.7 percent to their highest in more than three weeks on Monday, supported by strong demand on the export market, traders said.
The gains in soybeans pulled corn higher, with wheat following too as traders noted technically oversold conditions in the beaten-down grains market.
Soybeans were on track for their biggest daily gain in percentage terms since July 12, with traders saying that the market was focused on recent sales to overseas buyers instead of forecasts for a bumper harvest in the United States.
"Despite a record bean yield forecast from US Agriculture Department on Friday, record demand has given us a support area on the charts," CHS Hedging said in a note to clients.
At 9:36 a.m. CDT (1436 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures were up 26-1/5 cents at $10.08 a bushel. Prices for the most-active contract hit their highest since July 22.
USDA on Friday boosted its forecast for US soybean exports in the 2015/16 marketing year by 85 million bushels.
It also raised its soy export outlook for 2016/17 by 30 million bushels.
The market also was digesting Friday's sale of 258,000 tonnes of new-crop US soybeans to China, the 12th largest soybean sale to be confirmed by the USDA in 13 business days.
"Chinese purchasing of soybeans is continuing at a high rate and shows no signs of slackening despite the fears of the slowdown in the Chinese economy, with US soybean supplies staying in strong demand after poor soy crops this year in South America," said Frank Rijkers, agrifood economist at ABN AMRO Bank.
CBOT December corn futures were up 5 cents at $3.38 a bushel. The most-active contract hit its highest since July 29.
Technical buying added to the gains in corn. Traders said that corn's recovery from a seven-year low on Friday and its higher close to end the week was a bullish signal, indicating that the market had fully accounted for the government's forecast for a record large US crop in the autumn.
CBOT September soft red winter wheat was up 4 cents at $4.26-1/2 a bushel.
Technical support for the contract was noted at its 30-day moving average.
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