GRAINS-CBOT grain, soybean futures firm on choppy day of trading

By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, May 19 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures firmed on Monday in choppy trading with a spate of short-covering, even as some corn acres across the U.S. Delta and southern Midwest region seemed unlikely to get planted as heavy rainfall soaked fields, market analysts said.

Wheat futures turned higher for the fourth time in five sessions, as a weaker dollar .DXY can make U.S. exports cheaper and importers showed signs of interest, market analysts said.

South Korean millers bought about 50,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat in a tender on Monday. But prices remained capped by last week's Kansas crop tour, which projected the highest yield since 2021 as the region's crop was boosted by timely rain.

"The wheat market right now seems like it's set a floor, but it might go lower given that harvest is just around the corner," said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.

And soybean futures contracts ended slightly higher in technical trading, following two sessions of losses and lower-than-expected weekly soybean exports.

Soybeans garnered some late-session support on news that Argentina's 2024/25 soybean crop could suffer "significant losses" in northwestern Buenos Aires province from the recent storms, analysts said.

Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans Sv1 settled up 3/4-cent at $10.50-3/4 a bushel. Wheat Wv1 ended up 4 cents at $5.29 a bushel, and corn Cv1 rose 4 cents to $4.47-1/2 a bushel.

Soybean and corn futures were supported by hopes for additional U.S. trade deals that could reopen or expand market access for U.S. agricultural commodities, traders said.

While the U.S. is among the world's cheapest wheat suppliers, demand remains lackluster, said Matt Ammermann, a commodity risk manager at StoneX.

Traders cited news on Monday that Saudi Arabia's purchase of 621,000 metric tons of wheat was likely to be mostly sourced from Russia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Still, the hefty sale gave Chicago wheat futures some support, as it was expected to take some rival supplies out of the global market, Ammermann said.