Corn and wheat steady to up 2 cents, soybeans up 5-8

• US trade expectations for the opening of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade.
• Wheat firm on short-covering ahead of USDA data and end-of-month and end-of-quarter positioning.

CHICAGO: Following are US trade expectations for the opening of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) on Monday.

NOTE: Trade awaits the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Sept. 30 quarterly stocks and annual small grains reports, due at 11:00 a.m. CDT (1600 GMT).

WHEAT - Steady to up 2 cents per bushel

Wheat firm on short-covering ahead of USDA data and end-of-month and end-of-quarter positioning.

Worries about cold, wet weather in the United States and Canada and drought in Australia and Argentina also underpinned values.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the USDA on Monday to trim its estimate of the US 2019/20 all-wheat harvest to 1.968 billion bushels, from 1.980 billion previously.

Analysts on average expect the USDA on Monday to report US Sept. 1 wheat stocks at 2.318 billion bushels, down about 3% from a year earlier.

CBOT December soft red winter wheat last traded up 1/4 cent at $4.87-1/2 per bushel. K.C. December hard red winter wheat was last down 3/4 cent at $4.06-3/4 a bushel and MGEX December spring wheat rose 6-1/4 cents to $5.53-1/4.

CORN - Steady to up 2 cents per bushel

Corn firm on short-covering ahead of USDA data and on spill-over support from higher soybeans. Concerns about harvest-disrupting rains in the central and southern Midwest and dry planting season weather in parts of South America also supportive.

The USDA on Monday confirmed private sales of 120,000 tonnes of US corn to Mexico for shipment in the 2019/20 marketing year.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to report US Sept. 1 corn stocks at 2.428 billion bushels, which would be the largest Sept. 1 stocks since 1988.

CBOT December corn last traded up 3/4 cent at $3.72-3/4 per bushel.

SOYBEANS - Up 5 to 8 cents per bushel

Soybeans rise on short-covering ahead of USDA data. Concerns about excessive rains in the central and southern Midwest and dry weather in some South American crop areas also supportive.

Trade monitoring trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing and watching for any additional Chinese purchases of US agricultural products. Talks are set to resume next week.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to report US Sept. 1 soybean stocks at 982 million bushels, which would represent the highest Sept. 1 figure on record.

CBOT November soybeans last traded up 7-3/4 cents at $8.90-3/4 per bushel.