WHEAT - Up 1 to 4 cents per bushel
Wheat higher on technical buying and fears about poor crop weather in southern Russia and parts of North America and Australia. CBOT July wheat reached $5.54 in early moves, its highest in 10 months, before paring gains.
The supplement to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments report showed large speculators cut their net short position in CBOT wheat by about 8,500 contracts in the week to May 22, to 29,482 lots.
For K.C. hard red winter wheat, the CFTC's supplemental report showed large speculators widened their net long by about 2,500 contracts, to 37,522 lots.
CBOT July soft red winter wheat last up 4-1/2 cents at $5.47-1/2 per bushel. K.C. July hard red winter wheat last traded up 6-1/4 cents at $5.70-1/4 and MGEX July spring wheat was up 1-1/2 cents at $6.45-3/4 a bushel.
CORN - Mixed, up 1 cent per bushel to down 1 cent
Corn turned mixed ahead of the break in trade, paring early advances tied to strength in wheat. The CBOT July contract erased gains after reaching $4.10 a bushel, short of its May 24 high of $4.12-1/4.
Traders monitoring weather forecasts after a hot weekend in the US Midwest. The remnants of subtropical storm Alberto were expected to bring beneficial rains to the eastern Corn Belt this week.
Trade awaits the US Department of Agriculture's first weekly condition ratings for the 2018 corn crop, due later on Tuesday.
The USDA said private exporters sold 231,248 tonnes of US corn to unknown destinations, including 28,048 tonnes for delivery in the 2017/18 marketing year and 203,200 tonnes for 2018/19.
The supplement to the CFTC's weekly commitments report showed large speculators expanded their net long position in CBOT corn by about 1,900 contracts in the week to May 22, to 215,711 lots.
CBOT July corn last traded unchanged at $4.06 a bushel.
SOYBEANS - Down 3 to 4 cents per bushel
Soybeans turned lower, retreating from early gains, pressured by technical selling after the CBOT July contract was unable to climb above its May 24 high of $10.50-3/4 a bushel. Chart support noted at the July contact's 50-day moving average near $10.37.
A nationwide protest by Brazilian truckers was slow to unwind on Monday, even after the week-long demonstrations against diesel price hikes got the government to cave to their demands, causing stocks and the currency to slide.
Argentina's government is raising an export tax on biodiesel to 15 percent from 8 percent, effective July 1, according to a decree published in the official Gazette on Monday.
The CFTC's weekly commitments report showed large speculators cut their net long position in CBOT soybeans by about 12,700 contracts in the week to May 22, to 76,757 lots.
CBOT July soybeans last down 3-1/4 cents at $10.38-1/4 per bushel.