REFILE-GRAINS-CBOT corn futures climb on technical trading, trade deal hopes

By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, July 24 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn futures ticked up on Thursday on signs of short-covering and consolidation, as traders are hopeful that President Donald Trump will get foreign buyers to purchase more U.S. farm goods, market analysts said.

Soybean futures eased as U.S. weekly export sales came in at the lower end of trade estimates, and beneficial U.S. crop weather continued to weigh on grain and oilseed markets, analysts said.

Soybeans also faced some pressure from weakness in the CBOT soymeal market, which turned lower on news that a Chinese buyer has signed a deal this week to import 30,000 metric tons of Argentine meal, as animal feed producers ramp up purchases to take advantage of softer prices in the South American market.

"If China comes to the U.S. last for its soybean needs, eventually that will mean other buyers are going to end up buying U.S. beans and meal, said Jake Hanley, managing director and senior portfolio specialist at Teucrium Trading. "But in the near term? It's not optimistic news."

CBOT wheat futures continued to head lower, as the U.S. dollar .DXY strengthened, and on expectations of plentiful global supplies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on Wednesday that U.S. weekly wheat exports were at the higher end of a range of trade estimates. U.S. wheat is now cheaper than wheat from Europe or top exporter Russia, where a large harvest is beginning to flow into the market.

Yields for U.S. spring wheat crops in northern North Dakota are likely to fall from last year's record per-acre output but remain above the five-year average, the Wheat Quality Council said on an annual tour on Wednesday.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was down 2 cents at $5.38-1/2 a bushel at 1629 GMT. CBOT soybeans Sv1 were down 1-3/4 cents at $10.21 a bushel and corn Cv1 was up 1-1/4 cents at $4.18-3/4 a bushel.

Most-active December corn futures CZ25 briefly jumped early on Thursday, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture incorrectly reported a sale of U.S. corn to China when the buyer was actually South Korea, the agency said.

The initial report excited some grain traders because China is not a top buyer of U.S. corn and its demand for American agricultural goods has declined amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.