PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures picked up on Thursday as the dollar eased from a 13-1/2 year high, and traders awaited weekly US export figures to gauge the impact of the dollar's surge since Donald Trump's election win.
Corn and wheat also edged higher after losing ground on Wednesday like soybeans.
Prices for all three crops have been curbed by large US and worldwide supplies, including record US corn and soybean harvests, and the recent run-up in the dollar.
The Chicago Board Of Trade most-active soybean contract was up 0.3 percent at $9.89 a bushel by 1234 GMT, after closing slightly lower on Wednesday.
Corn rose 0.4 percent to $3.39-3/4 a bushel and wheat climbed 0.8 percent to $4.00 a bushel to test the psychological price threshold.
The dollar fell back against a basket of currencies after charging to its highest since 2003 on Wednesday, carried by bets that a Trump administration will adopt inflationary policies.
A stronger dollar makes US grain more expensive for overseas investors and importers, although the US Department of Agriculture has continued to report new soybean sales to China.
The USDA's weekly export report at 1330 GMT will be watched for signs of the dollar impact and any seasonal shift in Chinese soybean demand from the United States towards South America.
"Soybean importers are likely to shift to buying South American products," said Kaname Gokon at Okato Shoji brokerage in Tokyo.
"A stronger dollar is going to make that shift quicker."
Mexican demand for US grain has dropped along with the country's sinking peso after Trump's election victory, traders and industry analysts said.
"The US export data will be closely monitored due to lower competitiveness of US corn to usual destinations like Mexico," consultancy Agritel said in a note.
In wheat, traders said US wheat was well placed to claim part of a 580,000 tonne purchase by Algeria in a tender this
week, although the exchange rate could upset US prospects in what is an optional-origin deal.
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