Wheat holds near 3-month top on China demand talk, world crop risks
- Wheat edges down after 4% jump on Wednesday.
- Talk of China buying US wheat, harvest doubts fuel rally.
- Corn, soybeans stay firm on China demand, Midwest weather risks.
PARIS/SYDNEY: Chicago wheat futures edged lower on Thursday but held close to a near three-month high struck a day earlier as talk of Chinese purchases and concern about northern hemisphere harvests supported prices.
Corn and soybeans added to gains from the previous session on signs of renewed Chinese demand.
The most-active wheat futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were down 0.5% at $5.547-3/4 a bushel. They had climbed more than 4% on Wednesday when prices hit their highest since April 23.
Traders said unconfirmed reports of China buying two cargoes of US soft red winter wheat - the variety traded in Chicago - had fuelled Wednesday's rally, coming after recent corn and soybean sales to China.
"Unconfirmed reports about Chinese wheat purchases gave rise to hopes of additional demand," Commerzbank said in a note.
Private buyers booked at least five cargoes of US soybeans on Wednesday, or at least 300,000 tonnes, two US export traders with knowledge of the deals said.
On Tuesday, the US Department of Agriculture had confirmed a biggest single-day Chinese purchase of US corn on record at 1.762 million tonnes.
The latest deals came despite concerns about diplomatic tensions over Hong Kong.
The wheat market has also been supported by mixed harvest prospects in the northern hemisphere and rising export prices in Europe and the Black Sea region, partly due to slow farmer selling.
Consultancy Strategie Grains on Thursday further reduced its forecast for this year's soft wheat harvest in the European Union.
CBOT soybean futures were up 0.5% at $8.87-1/4 a bushel, while corn futures rose 1.0% to $3.37-1/4 a bushel.
The National Oilseed Processors Association said its members crushed 167.3 million bushels of soybeans last month, topping the range of trade estimates.
Traders were also assessing Midwest weather for key summer growth stages for corn and soybeans, with some latest forecasts showing more intense heat building in the coming two weeks.
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