Wheat rises on strong demand, soybeans supported by China's Covid-19 easing

Chicago wheat futures inched higher on Tuesday, rising for the first time in four sessions as strong US weekly exports supported the market.

Soybeans gained ground on expectations of a recovery in demand with China gradually easing Covid-19 restrictions, corn prices rose.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 added 0.4% to $7.42 a bushel, as of 0145 GMT. Soybeans Sv1 gained 0.6% at $14.45-3/4 a bushel and corn Cv1 rose 0.2% to $6.41-3/4 a bushel.

During the week ended 1 Dec US exporters prepared 334,653 tonnes of wheat for export, beating expectations in a Reuters poll of analysts, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

However, ample supplies are likely to keep a lid on prices.

Russian wheat export prices fell slightly last week amid a record harvest in Russia and active supplies from the Black Sea.

Australia is expected to produce a bumper year of crops including record wheat production in the current financial year, the government said on Tuesday, despite the impact of widespread flooding in the the country's eastern region.

Total winter crop production across the country is forecast to total 62 million tonnes, the second highest on record, according to a report from the federal Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARES).

Further easing of Covid-19 quarantine rules in some Chinese cities could increase demand for US commodities, including soybeans.

US exporters sold 130,000 tonnes of soybeans for delivery to China.

Corn export inspections of 524,313 tonnes and soybean inspections of 1.72 million tonnes were within trade expectations.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soymeal and soybean futures contracts on Monday and net sellers of soyoil, wheat and corn wheat futures, traders said. 

Global stocks and Treasury prices fell on Monday as new evidence of a strong US economy raised fears that interest rates will stay higher for longer, eclipsing China's easing of pandemic restrictions.