GRAINS-Chicago wheat claws higher on short covering; abundant global supply caps gains
BEIJING, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures rose on Thursday, helped by short covering, though abundant global supply continued to weigh on the market.
Corn gained on brisk export demand, while soybeans edged higher, supported by firm soymeal prices. Traders also closely monitored results from a U.S. Midwest field tour.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was up 0.19% at $5.29 per bushel, as of 0122 GMT.
* Corn Cv1 rose 0.06% to $4.04 a bushel, while soybeans Sv1 added 0.14% to $10.38 a bushel.
* Grain consultancy Sovecon raised its forecast for Russia's 2025 wheat crop to 85.4 million metric tons (mmt), from 85.2 million tons previously.
* On the third-day of the Pro Farmer crop tour, Illinois posted its highest soybean pod counts in at least 22 years and its second-highest corn yield potential.
* Western Iowa also showed above-average yield prospects, though crop diseases could threaten final yields.
* Exporters sold 100,000 metric tons of U.S. corn to Colombia and 125,741 metric tons of U.S. corn to Mexico, all for 2025-26 delivery, the USDA said.
* Argentina's corn planting area is expected to span some 7.8 million hectares in 2025/26, up 9.6% from the current season thanks to abundant rains, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Wednesday.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT wheat, soybean, corn and soymeal futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said. Funds were net even in soyoil futures, they said. COMFUND/CBT
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar fell on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign, but pared gains after minutes from the Fed's latest meeting showed that only two policymakers supported an interest rate cut last month. FRX/
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0715 France HCOB Mfg, Services, Composite Flash PMI August
0730 Germany HCOB Mfg, Services, Composite Flash PMI August
0800 EU HCOB Mfg, Services, Composite Flash PMI August
0830 UK Flash Composite, Manufacturing, Services PMI August
1230 US Initial Jobless Clm 16 August, w/e
1230 US Philly Fed Business Indx August
1345 US S&P Global Mfg, Svcs, Comp PMI Flash August
1400 EU Consumer Confid. Flash August
1400 US Existing Home Sales July
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