CHICAGO: US soybean futures rose 1.4 percent on Wednesday on a round of bargain buying following three straight days of declines that pushed the benchmark contract to its lowest since mid-November, traders said.
Corn futures also rose, on track to extend their three-session winning streak as investors staked out positions ahead of annual rebalancing by commodity index funds. Wheat firmed on support from worsening crop conditions.
An easing in the dollar, after Tuesday's 14-year high, lent additional support as it makes US commodities cheaper for overseas buyers. Speculators stepped in to pull soybeans higher despite expectations of huge crops in key exporters Brazil and Argentina.
"We got down to the bottom end of the range on beans," said Don Roose, president of US Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa. "It was the lowest we have been in a month and half and we get technical buying." At 10:22 a.m. CST (1622 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March soybean futures were up 13-3/4 cents at $10.08-3/4 a bushel. It hit its lowest since Nov. 18 during overnight trading.
CBOT March soft red winter wheat was 3-3/4 cents higher at $4.10-1/4 a bushel and K.C. March hard red winter wheat gained 5-1/2 cents to $4.19-1/2 a bushel.
Crop ratings fell in December in parts of the US Plains that endured a cold and dry month, including major hard red wheat growing states Oklahoma and Kansas, data released by the US Department of Agriculture after Tuesday's market close showed. Concerns about another cold snap in key growing areas were allayed by forecasts for snow, limiting the gains in the wheat market.
"Below zero temperatures should dip as far south as northern Kansas this week, but snow ahead of the cold snap should provide protection," Farm Futures senior analyst Bryce Knorr said in note to clients.
CBOT March corn futures were up 2-1/2 cents at $3.58-1/2 a bushel. The most active-corn contract has gained 2.9 percent during the current winning streak, hitting its highest since Dec. 16. Corn has found support at the turn of the year from expectations that funds will rebalance portfolios in favor of the cereal.
The managers of both the S&P GSCI and the Bloomberg Commodity Index last autumn announced plans to raise the share of corn and wheat in their indexes for 2017, and the funds typically make those adjustments in January.
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