Soybeans rise, wheat recovers from 3-month low on China demand hopes

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SINGAPORE — Chicago soybeans rose for a second session on Monday, while wheat ticked up after dropping to a three-month low in the last session, with easing COVID-19 restrictions in China triggering a broad-based gains in commodity and equity markets.

Corn slid for a fifth consecutive session.

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“Demand, especially for soybeans, is likely to recover if China’s eases more restrictions,” said one Singapore-based trader. “Wheat has firmed today but overall we have record Russian supplies which are going to cap upside in prices.”

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The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) added 0.4% to $14.44-1/4 a bushel, as of 0336 GMT. Wheat climbed 0.6% to $7.65-3/4 a bushel and corn fell 0.1% to $6.45-3/4 a bushel.

Further easing of COVID-19 testing requirements and quarantine rules in some Chinese cities was met with a mix of relief and worry on Friday, as hundreds of millions await an expected shift in national virus policies after widespread social unrest.

Adverse weather in key producing areas is providing addition support to agricultural markets.

Prolonged drought has left over a third of early planted soybeans in Argentina’s core farming region in regular to poor condition, the Rosario grains exchange said late Thursday, adding more dry and hot weather was expected in the days ahead.

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Canada’s wheat and canola harvests turned out smaller than expected due to dry conditions in parts of the Prairies, but were still bigger than last year’s, a government report showed on Friday.

However, the United Nations food agency’s world price index fell marginally in November, marking an eighth straight monthly fall since a record high in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A record Russian harvest and a grain export channel from Ukraine have increased export competition for U.S. supplies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Thursday export sales of U.S. wheat totalled 162,500 tonnes in the week ended Nov. 24, well below analysts’ forecasts ranging from 300,000 tonnes to 725,000 tonnes.

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Ukrainian farms had harvested 41.9 million tonnes of grain from 85% of the expected area as of Dec. 1, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.

Indian farmers have planted wheat on 21.2 million hectares since Oct. 1, when the current sowing season began, up 6% from a year ago, government data showed on Friday, as record high prices and higher soil moisture levels have encouraged planting.

Large speculators raised their net long position in Chicago Board of Trade corn futures in the week to Nov. 29, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, trimmed their net short position in CBOT wheat and raised their net long position in soybeans. (Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Rashmi Aich)