CHICAGO: US wheat and corn futures rose on Tuesday, supported by concerns that adverse weather in key production areas would limit the size of harvests this year, traders said. Soybean futures were weak, but losses were kept in check by signs that export demand from China remains strong despite concerns about a slowing economy from the world’s top buyer of soy due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday afternoon rated 27% of US winter wheat in good-to-excellent condition, down three percentage points from a week ago and the lowest for this time of year since 1989, as drought persists in the Plains wheat belt.

“A lower US wheat crop would further exacerbate the supply tightness on the wheat market as Ukraine is likely to grow significantly less wheat this year on account of the war,” Commerzbank said in a note.

USDA also said that corn planting was 7% complete as of April 24, below the average analyst estimate of 9% and the five-year average of 15%.

“The US corn planting campaign still has time before putting a huge dent in potential production, but forecast maps are relentlessly cold and wet,” Matt Zeller, director of market information at brokerage StoneX, said in a note to clients.

At 10:59 a.m CDT (1559 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade July soft red winter wheat futures were up 20-1/2 cents at $10.94 a bushel.

CBOT July corn futures were 2-1/4 cents higher at $8.00-1/4 a bushel. New-crop corn futures, which track the crop that will be grown this summer, posted bigger gains.