Corn futures top one-month high on strong US export sales

CHICAGO: US corn futures touched their highest prices in more than a month on Thursday on strong export demand, while soybean futures rose for a third consecutive session in a rebound from recent losses.

Wheat futures bucked the firmer trend and set a one-week low.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture helped support corn prices by reporting that U.S. export sales last week were just above 1.7 million tonnes, above a range of trade expectations for 900,000 to 1.3 million tonnes.

Global demand for U.S. corn has been strong after droughts reduced harvests in rival suppliers Brazil and Argentina.

"The Argentine supplies have been exhausted and the trade is expecting another downward adjustment to last year's Brazilian corn crop which should throw even more export demand to the U.S.," said Tomm Pftizenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage in Iowa.

Weekly U.S. soybean export sales were 872,300 tonnes, in line with analysts' estimates, and U.S. wheat sales reached a six-week high of 657,100 tonnes, topping expectations.

The front-month corn contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade was up 1-1/4 cents at $3.64-1/4 a bushel by 11:30 a.m. CDT (1630 GMT). It traded up to $3.65, the highest price for a nearby contract since Aug. 20.

Front-month soybeans rose 3-3/4 cents to $8.53-3/4 a bushel. CBOT wheat was down 3-1/4 cents to $5.14-1/4 a bushel and touched its lowest price since Sept. 19.

Traders were adjusting positions before the USDA releases quarterly data on grain inventories on Friday.

The agency is expected to report corn stocks were 2.010 billion bushels as of Sept. 1, down from 2.293 billion a year earlier, according to a Reuters poll. Soybean stocks are expected to be 401 million, up from 302 million a year earlier and the largest Sept. 1 figure since 2007. Wheat stocks are seen at 2.343 billion bushels, up from 2.266 bushels.

"We're using more corn," said Harry Bormann, grain team leader for MaxYield Cooperative in Iowa. "We're going to whittle down carryouts."

Soybean futures have been recovering from a near-10 year low struck last week that was linked to worries over a hardening trade dispute between Washington and Beijing. The row has curbed U.S. soy shipments to China ahead of what is expected to be a record U.S. harvest.

However, low prices have attracted other buyers to U.S. soy, such as Mexico.

"We've been down so hard, so long," Bormann said about soy prices. "The market is screaming at end users: 'Buy beans.'"