US corn futures rose to a three-month high on Thursday on improved export demand, while wheat futures retreated from a 1-1/2 year high reached a session earlier on the Chicago Board of Trade.
CBOT soyabeans eased to a one-month low as traders awaited signs of Chinese purchases of US crops in the wake of last week's initial trade agreement between Washington and Beijing.
The US Department of Agriculture has not confirmed agricultural sales to China since the countries inked the deal, in which Beijing pledged to increase imports of American farm products. But the agency said private exporters sold 141,000 tonnes of US corn to unknown destinations for 2019/20 delivery and another 143,948 tonnes to Guatemala.
US corn prices are low compared to other suppliers, according to traders. The deals with unknown destinations "will stir rumors of possible China sales following cash reports that China was inquiring at the end of last week," said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for US broker INTL FCStone.
Most actively traded CBOT corn was up 0.8% at $3.91-3/4 a bushel as of 11:12 a.m. CST (1712 GMT) and reached its highest price since Oct. 21. Most-active soyabeans slipped 0.5% to $9.09-1/4 and touched their lowest price since Dec. 13.
The United States is expected to face stiff competition for soyabean export sales from Brazil, where farmers are preparing to bring in massive harvests. China is the world's top soyabean importer and turned to Brazil, instead of the United States, for supplies during the height of the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
Brisk global demand and concerns about tightening supplies continued to underpin CBOT wheat futures, although traders booked profits after recent gains.
The most-active wheat futures on the CBOT was down 0.1% at $5.77-1/4 a bushel as traders booked profits. On Wednesday, the contract reached its highest since Aug. 2, 2018, at $5.92-1/2.
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