GRAINS-US export demand pulls corn prices higher

CANBERRA, May 1 (Reuters) - Chicago corn and wheat futures rose 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 countries across Europe and Asia are closed on Thursday for public holidays, with China, the world's biggest crop importer, closed until Tuesday.

The corn supply outlook is looking plentiful and demand is not strong enough to rally prices for now, a person at a major grain trading company in Australia said.

"The general sentiment in the market is that the safrinha corn crop in Brazil is as big if not bigger than people were thinking," he said.

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1 was up 0.4% at $4.77-1/4 a bushel at 1001 GMT, with CBOT wheat Wv1 rising 0.5% to $5.33-1/2 a bushel and soybeans Sv1 0.5% lower at $10.39-1/4 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 tons 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, according to European traders.

Turkey allocated a 1 million ton zero tariff import quota for corn, the trade ministry said.

In wheat, European 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.