SINGAPORE: Chicago corn futures were little changed on Thursday after closing higher in the last session as storms delayed planting in parts of the U.S. Midwest, although plentiful world supplies kept a lid on the market.
Wheat gained ground on bargain-buying after falling for the last five sessions.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was unchanged at $3.61-3/4 a bushel by 0708 GMT, soybeans rose 0.1 percent to $9.02-1/2 and wheat added 0.6 percent to $4.60-1/2 a bushel.
U.S. farmers, who have spent the last month sifting through damage left by a storm that flooded more than a million acres of crop land, now face a blizzard ahead of planting season.
The latest storm hit the U.S. Rockies on Wednesday and was forecast to move eastward, threatening to bring as much as 30 inches of snow to western Minnesota and southeast South Dakota and another round of flooding to the Plains states.
CBOT May corn may test a resistance at $3.64-3/4 per bushel, a break above which could lead to a gain to $3.68, Wang Tao, Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals, wrote in a report.
The soybean market was underpinned by expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the two sides have basically settled on a mechanism to police any agreement, including new enforcement offices.
"There are hopes for a positive outcome from trade talks," said a Singapore-based trader. "There could be some sort of a trade deal in the coming weeks."
China's Ministry of Commerce is set to review itsanti-dumping tariffs on imports from the United States of distiller's dried grains, an animal feed ingredient that is a byproduct of ethanol plants, according to a document issued by the China Alcoholic Drinks Association.
Ample soybean supplies and slowing Brazilian sales are likely to cap gains in prices.
Brazilian soybean exports are expected to end April at the lowest level for that month in four years, based on government figures for the first few days of the month, ship lineup data going forward and industry source estimates.
Argentina's soy production will likely reach 56 million tonnes for the 2018/2019 season, 2 million tonnes more than previously estimated, the Rosario grains exchange said on Wednesday, a fillip for the sector that was battered by drought last year.
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