Grains rose on Monday as optimism about a resolution to the eurozone debt crisis helped weaken the US dollar and spurred investors to buy risk assets such as agricultural commodities that had fallen to multi-month lows. Short-covering also boosted wheat, while higher crude oil added to momentum for soyabeans and corn, which are used to produce biofuels.
"The market was heavily oversold," said Jason Roose, vice-president of US Commodities in Iowa. "And we're at very importable (price) levels now. Chicago Board of Trade corn for March delivery rose 11 cents or 1.9 percent to $6.01 per bushel as of 9:51 am CST (1551 GMT).
Actively traded March wheat gained 12-1/2 cents or 2.1 percent to $6.01-1/2 a bushel. Both grains slightly added to overnight gains in European trading hours. Open interest in Chicago wheat has fallen close to setting a fresh 10-month low. That indicates some investors are weary of the market's recent volatility and the unpredictable nature of the impact from the euro debt crisis, Roose said.
January soyabeans rose 15-3/4 cents or 1.5 percent to $11.22-1/2 per bushel. Germany and France were exploring radical ways to integrate eurozone countries in order to impose tighter budget control, European Union sources told Reuters over the weekend. China was expected to import about 13 million tonnes of the oilseed in the first quarter, which is 18.5 percent higher than the year-ago period, the official China National Grain and Oils Information Centre said on Friday.