NEW YORK: US wheat futures rose on Tuesday, hitting their highest in a month on short-covering and global demand optimism, while adverse weather in major US producing regions stoked fears about potential disruption to sowing.
Soybean and corn futures fell after facing some technical resistance.
Chicago Board of Trade May wheat gained for the second consecutive session, rising 3-1/2 cents at $4.73 a bushel by 11:58 a.m. EDT (1558 GMT). It earlier reached $4.78 a bushel, the highest since Feb. 25.
May soybeans fell 5 cents at $9.01-1/2 a bushel. The contract dropped below 10- and 20-day moving averages during overnight trading.
May corn was down 2 cents at $3.77-3/4 a bushel. The contract was on track to post its first decline after four sessions of gains.
Global demand for wheat helped support futures.
An Egyptian state purchase tender for wheat attracted a lowest offer of $221 per tonne for 60,000 tonnes of US soft red wheat, traders said on Tuesday. The Ethiopian government has also issued a new international tender, to buy about 600,000 tonnes of milling wheat.
"There's signs of uncovering some demand here and the US hopes to capture some of it," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading in Indiana.
Meanwhile, snow covers much of North Dakota, a leading US wheat state, which could mean a delay in planting spring wheat if there is a sudden thaw.
Farmers from Missouri to South Dakota have seen their corn and soybean fields flooded as winter snow melts, a sign of what may be in store for North Dakota.
At the same time, a cold, wet spring could force farmers to plant more soybeans than initially expected.
Investors are hoping for direction from the US Department of Agriculture's planting intentions report, due to be released Friday.
Analysts expect the report to show that farmers plan to seed 86.169 million acres of soybeans, up from the government's February forecast for 85.000 million acres.
Traders also await further details from US-China trade talks. A US trade delegations will visit China starting Thursday for the next round of negotiations.
"If the talks drag on, US soy farmers may face increasing pressure to sell record stocks or plant alternatives instead if the Chinese market is not reopened to US exports," said Michael Magdovitz, senior agriculture commodities analyst at Rabobank.
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