Wheat firm after day-earlier slide, Egypt tender eyed * Chicago wheat set for 4.5 pct monthly rise * Corn, soybeans also steady after Monday losses (Updates with European trading, changes byline/dateline) By Gus Trompiz and Naveen Thukral PARIS/SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures edged higher on Tuesday as expectations of renewed export demand helped halt a day-earlier slide linked to ample global supplies. The slight increase kept Chicago wheat on course for a large monthly rise, after a February marked by investment fund flows that carried prices to a seven-month high in the middle of the month. Soybean prices inched up as delays in Brazilian farmer sales supported the market. Corn similarly ticked higher as grain markets saw Monday's wave of liquidation abate. The Chicago Board of Trade's most-active wheat contract has climbed 4.5 percent so far in February in what would be the strongest monthly rise since September 2015. By 1215 GMT, the benchmark was up 0.2 percent at $4.39-3/4, recovering from a one-week low of $4.38 on Monday, with a weaker dollar and technical support on price charts also encouraging the market to consolidate. "There should be some demand returning for U.S. wheat after the fall in prices that we have seen," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist, National Australia Bank. Weekly U.S. export inspections reported on Monday showed a wheat volume at the high end of analyst expectations. Traders will also be closely watching a tender being held on Tuesday by Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities to buy wheat for April 1-10 shipment. U.S. wheat was expected to remain out of contention but another large purchase by GASC could absorb more Black Sea supplies, while the tender may also show a narrowing in prices between Russian wheat and other origins such as the United States. But analysts say broadly favourable growing conditions in the northern hemisphere and forecasts for record global inventories remained a drag on wheat prices, despite an expected drop in U.S. production this year. "It has been known for some time that the U.S. winter wheat acreage is at a 100-year low, and that a correction is likely following the extremely high yields of the previous year," Commerzbank analysts said in a note. "The focus now appears to be on the fact that the supply of wheat will remain ample even if production declines slightly." CBOT soybeans were up 0.3 percent at $10.25-1/2, leaving the most active contract almost unchanged over the month. Corn was 0.2 percent higher on the day at $3.69 a bushel and poised for a slight rise in February. Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT corn, wheat and soybean futures contracts on Monday, traders said. Estimates for fund sales of corn ranged from 8,000 to 16,000 contracts. Prices at 1215 GMT Last Change Pct End Ytd Pct Move 2016 Move CBOT wheat 439.75 1.00 0.23 408.00 7.78 CBOT corn 369.00 0.75 0.20 352.00 4.83 CBOT soy 1025.50 3.50 0.34 1004.00 2.14 Paris MAT wheat May 171.75 1.50 0.88 168.00 2.23 Paris maize Jun 169.50 0.75 0.44 166.00 2.11 Paris rape May 413.25 3.50 0.85 408.50 1.16 WTI crude oil 53.94 -0.11 -0.20 53.72 0.41 Euro/dlr 1.06 0.00 0.15 Most active contracts - Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel, Paris futures in euros per tonne (Reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Gus Trompiz in Paris; Editing by Joseph Radford and David Evans)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com