(Updates prices, adds analyst comment)
March 2 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat and corn futures edged
higher in Asian trading on Thursday, supported by
bargain-buying, although the prospects of a Black Sea grain
export deal being renewed kept gains in check.
Soybeans held steady after rebounding in the previous
session from losses during the last five trading days of
February, as concerns persist about supply from drought-hit
Argentina.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade
(CBOT) was up 0.3% at $7.12 a bushel, as of 0414 GMT. It
dropped to its lowest since September 2021 earlier this week.
Russia, one of the world's largest wheat exporters, said on
Wednesday it would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain
deal, which allows grain to be safely exported from Ukrainian
ports, if the interests of its own agricultural producers are
taken into account.
Meanwhile, Australia's 2023/24 wheat crop is likely to be
around 25 million-26 million tonnes, a senior executive of
Graincorp Ltd said on Thursday, after three years of
record production in the world's second-largest exporter of the
grain.
In India, the government plans to buy about 34 million
tonnes of new-season wheat from local farmers to shore up state
reserves after purchases dropped last year because of a poor
harvest, two government sources said. CBOT corn rose 0.6% to $6.39-1/4 a bushel, extending
its rebound after losses seen last month.
Feed millers in Asia are boosting corn purchases from India,
as a severe drought has reduced production in traditional
supplier Argentina, two traders said on Thursday. CBOT soybeans were nearly flat at $14.94-3/4 a bushel.
"It is still necessary to focus on the impact of the weather
in South America on the harvest in Brazil and the production in
Argentina," analysts at Huatai Futures in China said in a note.
They said the U.S. Department of Agriculture may further
lower its forecast for Argentina's production, which will likely
provide support to U.S. soybean prices.
Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean,
wheat, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Wednesday,
traders said. (Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sonia
Cheema and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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