Updates at 1224 GMT, changes dateline
PARIS/CANBERRA, April 3 (Reuters) –Chicago wheat, corn and soybean futures edged up on Wednesday as an easing US dollar and fresh gains in crude oil encouraged grain prices to steady after losses this week.
The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was up 1.1% at $5.51-1/4 a bushel by 1224 GMT, recovering from a one-week low.
CBOT soybeans Answer1 were up 0.3% at $11.77 a bushel and corn Cv1 added 0.5% to $4.28-3/4 a bushel.
Soybeans and corn have each struck near four-week lows since Tuesday.
A fall in the dollar index .DXY from a 4-1/2 month high lent some support to US grain prices, which have faced stiff export competition from cheaper South American and Black Sea supplies.
A continuing rally in crude oil LCOc1 linked to geopolitical worries also underpinned corn and soybeans, which are partly used for biofuels.
“In macro-economic terms, crude oil is the main focus,” consultancy Agritel said. “In addition to the deterioration in Russia’s oil infrastructure, tensions in the Middle East are now mounting. O/R
Grain markets were still being curbed by ample global supplies and favorable harvest prospects in several major production zones.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday rated the US winter wheat crop at its highest early spring level in five years and crop-boosting rains are forecast for the southern US Plains wheat belt.
In Russia, heavy wheat exports, which consultancy SovEcon estimates set a March record of 4.9 million tons last month, are weighing on the market and a large stockpile was limiting concern so far about recent dry weather for crops there.
“It’s hard to see a bullish picture for wheat,” said Commonwealth Bank analyst Dennis Voznesenski. “Farmers all around the world have a lot of grain on farm and we’re not even at mid-year harvest.”
Wheat investors are also monitoring India. The authorities there have asked global and domestic trade houses to avoid buying new-season wheat from local farmers to help the government-backed Food Corporation of India (FCI) procure grain to shore up its depleting reserves, sources said.
| Prices at 1224 GMT | |||
| Cargo | Change | Pct Move | |
| CBOT wheat Wv1 | 551.25 | 6:00 a.m | 1.10 |
| CBOT corn Cv1 | 428.75 | 2.25 | 0.53 |
| CBOT soy Answer1 | 1177.00 | 3.00 am | 0.26 |
| Paris wheat BL2c1 | 203.00 | 1.25 | 0.62 |
| Paris maize EMAc1 | 193.75 | 1.00 | 0.52 |
| Paris rapeseed COMc1 | 452.25 | 6.50 | 1.46 |
| WTI crude oil CLc1 | 85.88 | 0.73 | 0.86 |
| Euro/dlr EUR= | 1.08 | 0.00 | 0.09 |
| Most active contracts – Wheat. corn and soy US cents/bushel. Paris futures in euros per tonne | |||
Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Stephen Coates, Rashmi Aich and Emelia Sithole-Matarise
