SINGAPORE/PARIS: Chicago soybean futures rose for a third consecutive session on Wednesday with support from expectations that the United States government will lower its production estimates for the crop which is being harvested.
Corn eased for a fourth straight session while wheat lost more ground as both markets were weighed down by plentiful world supplies.
The Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybean contract increased 0.2 percent at $9.97-1/2 a bushel by 1225 GMT, having climbed 0.2 percent on Tuesday.
Corn fell 0.2 percent to $3.47 a bushel, having closed 0.1 percent lower in the previous session and wheat slid 0.6 percent to $4.26-1/4 a bushel, having closed 0.8 percent down on Tuesday.
"Expectations are that the USDA will lower US soybean yields, it is bit supportive for the market even though we have ample global supplies," said Phin Ziebell, an agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.
In Europe, Commerzbank added: "Slowly but surely, the soybean price is inching its way back up to the 1,000 US cents per bushel mark - even though data from China proved disappointing overnight," noting that Chinese imports were likely to rise again sharply in November and December.
The market is expected to focus on the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) supply and demand report on Thursday.
Analysts expect the report to show higher corn yields, lower soybean yields and still-ample global supplies of grains and oilseeds.
China imported 5.86 million tonnes of soybeans in October, down 28 percent from the previous month and well below market expectations, customs data showed on Wednesday, after some shipments were delayed.
But the Asian giant will commit to buy more US soybeans during President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing this week, a US industry official said, underlining the importance of trade in farm goods even as tensions grow between the world's top two economies.
Wheat prices are under pressure as the condition of the US crop improves, easing concerns about the state of the grain.
The focus is on Egypt's tender to buy wheat from global suppliers for shipment from Dec. 15 to 30.
The lowest offer in the tender was $195.30 per tonne, free-on-board (FOB), for 55,000 tonnes of Russian wheat, traders said.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat and soymeal futures contracts on Tuesday and net buyers of soybeans and soyoil, traders said.
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