GRAINS-Soybeans, wheat and corn boosted by weak dollar, fund buying

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn, wheat, and soybean futures continued to gain on Thursday as a weakening dollar made U.S. crops more affordable for importers using other currencies, and speculators bought into the rally.

FUNDAMENTALS

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn Cv1 was up 0.1% at $4.30 1/2 a bushel by 0144 GMT, while CBOT soybeans Sv1 gained 0.1% to $10.76-1/2 a bushel and wheat Wv1 was up 0.1% at $5.36-3/4 a bushel.

The U.S. dollar was near a four-year low reached on Tuesday. The greenback has weakened rapidly over the last two weeks, and U.S. President Donald Trump's reference to its value as "great" raised expectations of further weakness. USD/MKTS/GLOB FRX/

A lower dollar makes U.S. commodities more competitive on global markets, which can increase demand.

CBOT corn prices reached a 2-1/2 week high on Wednesday, with wheat hitting an eight-week high and soybeans a seven-week high on the same day.

Commodity funds were significant net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat and soybean futures on Wednesday, traders said. "There was an outsized level of short-covering from the managed money crowd today," StoneX analyst Bevan Everett wrote of wheat in a note.

However, plentiful global supply of soybeans, corn and wheat is keeping prices relatively low compared with their peaks in 2022.

Agricultural consultancy Sovecon on Tuesday raised its 2025/26 Russian wheat export forecast by 1.1 million metric tons to 45.7 million tons. Russia is the biggest wheat exporter.

MARKETS

The Nasdaq rose slightly with a boost from chip stocks, while the S&P 500 closed virtually unchanged on Wednesday as investor reactions were muted after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged as expected and gave little indication when borrowing costs might fall again. MKTS/GLOB