US soyabean futures firmed on Tuesday, rising for a sixth consecutive session on hopes that the United States and China will continue to progress toward an interim trade deal.
Corn futures also edged higher on an improved trade outlook as Canada, Mexico and the United States approved changes to a preliminary trade deal struck last year to replace their existing regional trade pact.
Both markets largely shrugged off a monthly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) supply-and-demand report, released at midsession, as the closely followed release made few changes to either crop's balance sheet.
Wheat, however, reversed earlier losses after the USDA forecast a drop in domestic wheat supplies to a five-year low.
Grain traders remained largely focused on negotiations between Washington and Beijing ahead of Dec. 15, when US President Donald Trump has said he would raise import tariffs on more Chinese goods, potentially escalating tensions in the 17 month-long trade war between the two countries.
Chinese buyers booked at least 300,000 tonnes in US soyabean purchases on Monday after Beijing offered waivers on steep import duties.
Chicago Board of Trade January soyabean futures were up 3 cents at $9.00-1/4 a bushel at 12:21 p.m. CDT (1821 GMT), while March corn gained 1-3/4 cents to $3.77-1/2 a bushel.
CBOT March wheat gained 4 cents to $5.26-3/4 a bushel, reversing earlier declines tied to worries about sluggish US exports.
No US wheat was offered in a snap tender by Egypt's state grain buyer, which ultimately bought 355,000 tonnes of Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian and French wheat. The USDA, however, raised its outlook for US wheat exports in the 2019/20 season by 25 million bushels.