US corn futures on Thursday climbed on better-than-expected weekly export sales data and bargain buying after the May contract hit a two-month low this week, analysts said. Soyabeans and wheat also rebounded after lows set this week.
As of 12:26 p.m. CDT (1725 GMT), CBOT May corn was up 3 cents at $3.66-1/2 per bushel. May soyabeans were up 1-1/2 cents at $9.9-3/4 a bushel and CBOT May wheat was up 1/4 cent at $4.36-3/4 a bushel.
Corn was on track for its third straight advance after sliding sharply on rising forecasts for South American production. The May contract dipped to $3.60 a bushel this week, its lowest since January 12.
"The corn market is up a bit on follow-through buying from technically bouncing off that $3.60 low," said Terry Reilly, senior commodity analyst with Futures International, adding,
A softer dollar tends to make US grains more attractive to those holding other currencies.
The greenback dropped to a five-week low against a basket of currencies, still reeling from the previous session, when a statement from the US Federal Reserve statement failed to signal a much faster pace of monetary policy tightening.
Corn futures also got a lift after the US Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales of old-crop US corn at 1.255 million tonnes, above a range of trade expectations and the most in seven weeks.
CBOT soyabeans were higher, on track to snap an eight-session decline that pressed the May contract this week to $9.92 a bushel, its lowest since mid-November.
However, the soya rally was capped by expectations for a record-large Brazilian harvest and an expansion in US soyabean plantings this spring.
CBOT soft red winter wheat futures firmed but trailed gains in K.C. hard red winter wheat and Minneapolis spring wheat futures, which drew support from export demand.
Through its daily reporting system, the USDA said private exporters sold 120,000 tonnes of US hard red winter wheat to Algeria for 2016/17 delivery.
Dealers said US wheat was becoming more competitive, although top wheat buyer Egypt opted for supplies from Russia, Ukraine and
France in a tender on Wednesday.
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