GRAINS-Soybeans hit 3-month high on China demand hopes; wheat firms

By Naveen Thukral

SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean futures hit their highest in three months on Wednesday, rising for a second session, as expectations of higher Chinese demand for U.S. cargoes underpinned the market.

Wheat ticked up, recouping some of the previous session's losses, although gains were curbed by ample world supplies, while corn firmed, having closed lower on Tuesday.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 added 0.6% to $11.55-1/4 a bushel, as of 0408 GMT, the highest since mid-November.

Wheat Wv1 rose 0.3% to $5.44-1/4 a bushel and corn Cv1 gained 0.3% at $4.27-1/2 a bushel.

Soybeans have rallied after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this month that China is considering buying an additional 8 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, and a report in the South China Morning Post said Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could extend their countries' trade truce for as long as a year.

The U.S. soybean crush in January reached its highest level on record for the first month of the year, while soyoil stocks ballooned to their largest level since April 2023, according to monthly National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) data issued on Tuesday.

However, demand for soybeans and other farm goods is likely to remain subdued this week, due to the Lunar New Year holidays in Asia and the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this week.

In wheat, news on Friday of a 3 million ton increase to consultancy IKAR's forecast for Russia's 2026 wheat crop, plus the announcement that India will allow the export of 2.5 million tons of wheat, drew attention back to abundant global supplies.