Hopes for a thaw in frigid trade relations between the United States and China further underpinned grains as US officials said Beijing's top trade negotiator could visit Washington this month for high-level talks. Grain markets have been reluctant to break out of recent trading ranges as traders await confirmation that China is following through on vows to buy "a significant amount" of US agricultural products and other goods.
The top soya importer has booked an estimated 5 million tonnes of US soyabeans over the past month, but deals for other products such as corn and wheat have not happened, according to traders. Drought in north Africa, a major wheat-consuming region, has boosted demand for the grain at a time when supplies in top exporter Russia are beginning to run low, he said.
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) March wheat jumped 7-3/4 cents to $5.21-1/2 a bushel by 11:38 a.m. CST (1738 GMT) after closing at its 10-day moving average a day earlier. Technical buying developed as the market held support at that level on Friday and broke through chart resistance at its 20- and 50-day moving averages. CBOT March soyabeans gained 4 cents to $9.10-3/4 a bushel, holding chart support at its 50-day moving average. March corn rose 2 cents to $3.78-1/4 a bushel. Wheat was on pace for a second straight weekly gain, while corn and soyabeans were poised for their fourth weekly declines in five weeks.