SYDNEY: US wheat rose nearly 1 percent as cold weather struck key US producing regions, raising fears of potential crop losses.
Soybean prices held steady after posting gains of nearly 1 percent in the previous session, while corn was little changed.
The most active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade had risen 0.7 percent to $4.12-1/4 a bushel by 0358 GMT, having closed little changed on Friday.
"It is very cold in the US and that has some concerned about crop losses," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank.
Frigid temperatures across the US Plains and Midwest potentially expose the country's hard red and soft red crops to damage.
Both are planted in autumn and go dormant during the winter, before resuming growth in the spring. Wheat is typically at its hardiest during the winter months, but plants can be damaged if temperatures dip enough for extended periods.
The most active soybean futures were little changed at $10.37-1/4 a bushel, having firmed 0.8 percent on Friday .
The most active corn futures were steady at $3.56-1/2 a bushel, after closing little changed on Friday.
The US Department of Agriculture on Friday said private exporters reported a deal to ship 205,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations in the 2016/17 marketing year. It was the third flash sale of the week.
Meanwhile, Brazilian independent analysts Safras & Mercado raised their forecast for Brazil's 2016/17 soybean crop to 106.1 million tonnes, 9.2 percent above the 2015/16 season and 2.5 percent more than its previous projection in October.
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