SYDNEY/PARIS: US soybean futures rose 0.5 percent on Thursday on expectations of higher demand from the biodiesel sector while corn edged higher after a widely watched tour reported lower yield estimates in key producing regions.
Wheat futures were also firm on strong demand but new signs of a hefty Russian harvest capped gains.
The most active soybean futures were up 0.4 percent at $9.41-3/4 a bushel, having closed little changed in the previous session.
Soybeans were supported as Argentine biodiesel exports are expected to be priced out of the US market after Washington decided on Tuesday to impose steep duties on imports that it said were unfairly subsidised.
Gains were capped after the US Department of Agriculture said private exporters cancelled sales of 640,970 tonnes of US soybeans sold to China for delivery in the 2016/17 marketing year.
The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were trading up 0.1 percent at $3.56 a bushel, having earlier hit a low of $3.55-1/4 a bushel - the lowest since March 31. Corn closed down 1.2 percent on Wednesday and has slid more than 7 percent this month.
The uptick in support came as the Farm Journal Midwest Crop Tour said Illinois corn yields are projected to fall about 6.6 percent from last year's near-record crop after surveying 205 fields across the No. 2 corn-producing state.
Corn yield potential and soybean pod counts were also lower from a year ago and below the three-year average across western Iowa, with the crops showing signs of stress from dryness during June and July, scouts on an annual tour found on Wednesday.
The most active wheat futures were up 0.5 percent at$4.32 a bushel after closing up 0.2 percent on Wednesday.
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