GRAINS-Corn prices inch higher on US export demand

CANBERRA, May 1 (Reuters) - Chicago corn and wheat futures rose slightly on Thursday after sharp declines earlier in the week, with corn supported by U.S. export demand and wheat by bargain-hunting.

Soybeans edged lower as large South American harvests and a lack of Chinese demand for U.S. crops weigh on prices.

Markets in numerous countries in Europe and Asia are closed on Thursday for public holidays.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1 was up 0.2% at $4.76-1/4 a bushel at 0050 GMT, with CBOT wheat Wv1 rising 0.2% to $5.31-3/4 a bushel and soybeans Sv1 0.1% lower at $10.44 a bushel.

All three contracts fell last year to their lowest levels since 2020. Corn has since risen by around 20% and soybeans by around 10% but wheat prices have barely budged.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Wednesday that unknown buyers had purchased 120,000 metric tons of U.S. corn, following other recent purchases by Spain and Mexico.

The USDA will issue weekly grain and soybean export sales data on Thursday. Analysts expect U.S. corn sales of between 700,000 and 1.5 million tons.

The Korea Feed Association in South Korea also is believed to have purchased about 65,000 tons of animal feed corn expected to be sourced from the United States, European traders said.

European wheat crops are mostly in good condition, analysts said, and rainfall has benefited wheat in the U.S. Plains, with more showers forecast.

Argentina's 2025/26 wheat production is estimated at 20.5 million tons, up from 18.6 million tons in 2024/25 and the second-highest on record, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said.

In soybeans, Argentina has recorded its largest single-day sales volumes so far in 2025, the Rosario grain exchange (BCR) said.

U.S. soybean processors likely crushed 6.165 million short tons of the oilseed in March, or 205.5 million bushels, while soyoil stocks were estimated to have swelled to an eight-month high, analysts surveyed by Reuters said ahead of a monthly USDA report due on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Beijing hangs over Chicago soy futures because China is the world's top importer of the crop and its high tariffs on U.S. imports mean it will buy soybeans for other suppliers.

MARKETS NEWS

U.S. stocks pulled a late-session rebound on Wednesday and oil prices logged their biggest monthly drop in 3-1/2 years as investors parsed news of the first U.S. economic contraction since 2022. MKTS/GLOB