PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures edged higher on Thursday as a port strike in Argentina threatened to disrupt export flows, lending support to prices that had sunk to one-year lows this week in the face of hefty global supplies.
Corn prices were also firm as the market remained underpinned by weather risks after lower-than-expected corn crop ratings in a US government report on Tuesday.
Wheat was up marginally as investors weighed up weather threats at the start of the US harvest against record global supplies that were driving stiff export competition.
The Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybean contract was up 0.3 percent at $9.18-1/4 a bushel by 1126 GMT. This added to a small gain at Wednesday's close as the contract moved away from a near 14-month low of $9.09-1/2 hit earlier on Wednesday.
"The Argentina port strike is supporting soybeans, the situation is not good for soybean supplies," said Kaname Gokon from Tokyo brokerage Okato Shoji.
"We don't expect huge gains though as Brazilian exports are flooding the market."
Private port grains inspectors in Argentina started a 48-hour wage strike on Wednesday, after government health inspectors called a three-day work stoppage a day earlier, also over pay.
Soybeans and corn were also finding some support in wet, cool weather in the US Midwest that has hampered spring planting and raised some doubts about harvest prospects.
Corn reached a one-week high on Wednesday after the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) first weekly corn condition ratings for 2017 that were below the average estimate.
"While crop planting is near the five-year average, the cold and wet weather could hinder the replanting of already damaged crops and reduce quality/yield prospects," Rajesh Singla, agriculture analyst with Societe Generale, said in a note.
CBOT corn was up 0.2 percent at $3.72-3/4 a bushel but held below Wednesday's one-week top of $3.76-1/2 a bushel.
CBOT wheat ticked up 0.1 percent to $4.29-3/4 a bushel, continuing a consolidation trend from the previous session.
Wheat was also supported by lower than expected crop ratings in this week's USDA report.
Forecasters were also reducing estimates for this year's wheat crop in the European Union after dryness in countries like Spain and France. The EU's executive on Thursday cut its monthly outlook for the bloc's 2017/18 common wheat crop to 141.3 million tonnes from 141.9 million.
However, an Egyptian import tender on Thursday showed Black Sea origins such as Russian wheat remained competitive for Middle Eastern destinations, with state buyer GASC passing on offers of US wheat.
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