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Strong purchases by China underpin Chicago corn futures
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Uncertainty persists on Black Sea deal as deadline looms
(Updates with European trading, changes byline/dateline)
By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral
PARIS/SINGAPORE, March 16 (Reuters) - Chicago corn was
little changed on Thursday, while wheat eased back as traders
awaited news on the renewal of a Black Sea export deal.
Soybeans edged up, recouping a day-earlier fall.
Grain markets were also awaiting weekly U.S. export data
after announcements of large corn sales to China boosted
sentiment this week.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade
(CBOT) was up 0.2% at $6.27-3/4 a bushel by 1149 GMT.
CBOT wheat was down 0.6% at $6.98-3/4 a bushel and
soybeans added 0.4% to 14.95 a bushel.
The mood in grains markets was cautious given recent turmoil
in broader financial markets in the wake of the collapse of two
U.S. banks.
Share prices were mixed on Thursday as investors remained
nervous about the economic outlook despite the Swiss central
bank's lifeline for embattled bank Credit Suisse and awaited the
European Central Bank's rate decision later in the day as a
gauge of how policymakers will adjust to upheaval in the banking
sector. "This (Swiss central bank) intervention helped stabilize the
macro mood," Peak Trading Research said in a note.
"This is an important ECB decision today, with implications
for the Fed next Wednesday," it said, referring to an upcoming
U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.
Uncertainty remained over whether a deal to allow grain
shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports would be extended ahead
of a deadline later this week, although traders still generally
anticipated an extension.
The soybean market continued to set drought losses in
Argentina against progress in harvesting what is expected to be
a record crop in Brazil.
Argentina's soybean crushing plants are operating at the
lowest capacity in history due to the impact of a ferocious
drought, the leader of the country's top grains processing
chamber said on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in
Singapore
Editing by Rashmi Aich and Susan Fenton)
