SINGAPORE/PARIS: Chicago soybeans rose for a second consecutive session on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said China was back in the market buying US beans.
Wheat edged higher, snapping two sessions of falls, but the market remained under pressure as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its forecasts of US and global wheat ending stocks more than most analysts had expected.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade gained 0.7 percent to $9.21-3/4 a bushel by 1213 GMT, after touching its highest since Dec. 3 at $9.23 a bushel.
Wheat was up 0.8 percent at $5.25-1/4 a bushel, having closed down 0.8 percent on Tuesday, and corn added 0.4 percent at $3.86-1/4 a bushel, having gained 0.2 percent in the previous session.
Trump told Reuters on Tuesday that China was buying a "tremendous amount" of US soybeans and that trade talks with Beijing were already under way by telephone, with more meetings likely among US and Chinese officials.
"US president saying China is buying US soybeans is certainly supportive for the market," said one Singapore-based oilseed trader. "But the market is not going to rally unless we see actual deals being signed."
Trump and China's President Xi Jinping agreed at a Dec. 1 meeting in Argentina to a truce that delayed a planned Jan. 1 US increase of tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
The USDA, in its monthly supply-demand report, raised its forecast of world 2018/19 soybean ending stocks to 115.33 million tonnes, topping a range of estimates.
The agency raised its forecast of US 2018-19 wheat ending stocks to 974 million bushels from 949 million bushels in November, above the average trade expectation for 956 million bushels.
The larger stockpile expected at the end of the marketing year reflected a cut in the government's forecast of US wheat exports.
"Even if (wheat) exports pick up in the remainder of the season, the overall figure will remain unsatisfactory," Commerzbank said in a note.
Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, corn, soyoil and soymeal futures contracts on Tuesday and net sellers of wheat, traders said.
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