Wheat up for 2nd day on short-covering; ample supplies cap gains

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat rose for a second consecutive session on Thursday, with prices underpinned by short-covering and expectations of demand for US shipments after prices dropped to a one-month low earlier this week.

Corn inched down for the first time in three sessions, though prices remained near a two-week high hit the previous day.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract rose 0.2 percent to $4.22-1/4 a bushel by 0245 GMT, after closing up 1.2 percent on Wednesday.

Corn slid 0.1 percent to $3.52-1/2 a bushel following a 1.4 percent gain in the previous session when prices touched their highest since Jan. 4 at $3.53-1/4 a bushel.

Soybeans were little changed at $9.68-1/4 a bushel, having firmed 0.1 percent on Wednesday.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat, soybean and soymeal futures contracts on Wednesday and net sellers of soyoil futures, traders said. Trader estimates of net fund buying in corn were in a wide range from 12,000 to 25,000 contracts.

Under pressure from abundant global supplies, Chicago wheat dipped to its lowest since Dec. 13 on Tuesday, lifting hopes that buyers would find US wheat competitive.

"Buyers might finally have emerged given the US wheat, via lower prices and a lower greenback, will have cheapened considerably over the past week," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

A weaker dollar, which makes US commodities cheaper for importers holding other currencies, added to the bullish sentiment.

The US dollar has dropped to its lowest in three years against a basket of currencies.

Corn had been under sustained pressure after the US Department of Agriculture crop report last week showed massive stocks and a bigger-than-expected US harvest. But failure to extend those losses since then prompted speculation that a near-term low had been achieved.

A drought in the heart of Argentina's Pampas grains belt is expected to reduce corn yields and cut up to 3.7 million tonnes from the projected 2017/18 harvest, local analysts said on Wednesday.

For soybeans, Brazil's Mato Grosso soybean producers have sold less of their new-crop beans so far than they did last year, when sales were already late compared with long-term averages, as they hoard grains in the hope of better prices ahead.