Corn hits 8-day high on brisk US exports

CANBERRA: Chicago corn futures edged higher on Tuesday to notch an eight-day peak after a US government report showed that export demand for the grain remained high.

Soybeans held steady, while wheat edged lower.

The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were up 0.3% at $5.51-1/4 a bushel by 0332 GMT, near the session peak of $5.52-1/2 a bushel - the highest since March 8. Corn gained 1.9% in the previous session.

"Prices are being bolstered by a faster pace of US export clearance," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

A weekly US Agriculture Department report showed corn export inspections of 2.204 million tonnes, up from 1.673 million tonnes in the prior week. That topped analysts' expectations, which ranged from 1.2 million to 1.9 million tonnes.

The most active wheat futures were down 0.4% at $6.42-1/2 a bushel, having closed 1% higher on Monday.

Egypt, the second-largest buyer of Russian wheat after Turkey, bought 360,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat last week. Russia imposed high wheat export tax from March 1, and the pace of its exports is down sharply.

The most active soybean futures were steady at $14.19-3/4 a bushel, having closed 0.4% firmer on Monday.

The US soybean crush was well below trade expectations in February, sinking to the lowest in 17 months, according to data released by the National Oilseed Processors Association on Monday.