Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn futures rebounded on Wednesday from four sessions of declines in a technical and fund-buying bounce fueled by rising crude oil and equities markets, more than offsetting seasonal pressure from an accelerating U.S. harvest.
Soybean and wheat futures also advanced as global economic jitters eased and the dollar weakened.
The gains followed early week declines in broader markets on worries about property developer China Evergrande.
“We’re getting some return to the risk appetite. The stock market is beginning to turn around noticeably,” said Sterling Smith, director of agricultural research at AgriSompo.
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Chicago Board of Trade December corn rose 8-1/2 cents to $5.25-1/2 a bushel (all figures US$). The contract held technical support at its 200-day moving average but struggled to break through overhead chart resistance at its 20-day average.
November soybeans, which touched a three-month low on Tuesday, gained 8-3/4 cents to $12.82-3/4 a bushel after holding chart support at the 200-day moving average.
CBOT December wheat added 15-1/2 cents to $7.05-3/4 a bushel, partly reversing three sessions of losses.
Easing concerns about delays to U.S. Gulf Coast exports following a severe hurricane last month also underpinned the market. Most export terminals there have restarted loadings to some degree and power has been restored to nearly all facilities ahead of the peak crop export season beginning next month.
Gains in corn and soy futures were capped by rising supplies from the U.S. harvest. Farmers are expected to make brisk progress on harvesting crops amid forecasts for mostly dry weather across the U.S. Midwest and Delta region over the next 10 days.
Grains traders are also cautiously monitoring potential adjustments to crop demand from the biofuels sector as the White House is considering big cuts to U.S. biofuel blending requirements.
— Reporting for Reuters by Karl Plume; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
