Soybeans steady after slide; wheat, corn also firm

PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago soybeans ticked higher on Friday as an easing dollar and firm crude oil helped the oilseed to steady after a day-earlier slide.

Wheat and corn were higher as the cereals also regained ground after succumbing to broad selling in commodities on Thursday.

Grains remained underpinned by brisk global demand in food and biofuel markets, which was countering supply pressure from advancing US corn and soybean harvests and improving planting conditions in South America.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.3% at $12.27-1/2 a bushel by 1044 GMT.

Soybeans are set for a weekly gain after rebounding from a 2021 low set last week.

US soybean export sales for the week ended Oct. 7 were 2.88 million tonnes, primarily due to sales to China, beating trade expectations, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Soybeans steady after slide as Chinese demand in focus

A pullback in vegetable oil markets capped soybeans, however.

CBOT corn was up 0.8% at $5.36-1/4 a bushel while CBOT wheat was 1.2% higher at $7.50 s bushel.

In Europe, December wheat on Euronext climbed to a new life-of-contract high at 280.00 euros ($325.89) a tonne.

Wheat markets continued to grapple with strong import demand as stockpiles are expected to decline in major exporting zones this season.

"Buyers are counting on the upcoming Australian crop to ease the market, but the global supply and demand balance is poised to remain tight," consultancy Agritel said in a note.

In Australia, robust demand for wheat is quickly filling up shipping slots as importers book cargoes ahead of what is expected to be a second year of near-record output.

The corn market was finding support in strong US ethanol demand, weather forecasts suggesting harvest delays next week, and talk of a shift from corn to soybean planting next year due to spiralling fertiliser costs.

However, beneficial rain for planting in Brazil and upward revisions to US and European harvests were acting as a curb on corn prices, analysts said.