Corn and soy climb on bargain buying, positioning ahead of holiday weekend
US Midwest weather remains favorable for corn and soy crops
Soybeans find support in soyoil rally, China rumors
Wheat holds firm on short-covering before US holiday weekend
(Adds soybeans supported by rumors Trump may announce China trade pact progress, adds closing prices)
CHICAGO, July 2 (Reuters) – U.S. grain and soybean futures rose on Wednesday in a bargain-buying and technical advance after recent declines and ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend, with U.S. markets closed on Friday.
Soybeans climbed 2% as soyoil values registered strong gains for a second session on favorable biofuel feedstock policy in the latest version of the U.S. budget bill.
Widespread market rumors that U.S. President Donald Trump will report progress on a trade pact with China while visiting farm-heavy Iowa on Thursday propelled gains, analysts said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the market rumors.
Corn and wheat each added nearly 3%, drawing spillover support from rising soybeans.
“It is a new month and new quarter, so we’re seeing a little bit of bottom-picking in these markets. However, U.S. weather looks fantastic,” said Terry Reilly, senior agricultural strategist at Marex.
Largely favorable crop development weather dragged corn and soybean prices to multi-month lows in recent sessions as warm temperatures and timely rains boosted U.S. harvest prospects.
The optimal conditions coincide with harvesting by rival exporter Brazil of what some analysts expect to be a record second-corn crop.
Chicago Board of Trade August soybeans settled up 23-3/4 cents at $10.53-1/2 a bushel while new-crop November futures added 20-3/4 cents to $10.48. Buying accelerated as the contracts broke through overhead technical resistance at their 100- and 200-day averages.
September corn rose 12 cents to $4.18 a bushel while new-crop December jumped 11-1/2 cents to $4.33-1/2.
CBOT September wheat ended up 15 cents at $5.64 a bushel as investors covered more of their large short positions in the market.
Abundant supplies were still hanging over the wheat market, with U.S. farmers progressing with their harvest while crops in Europe and the Black Sea region are expected to be sizeable despite harsh weather including a heatwave in western Europe this week. (Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore Editing by Marguerita Choy)
