Soybeans gain for second session on China buying

(Reuters) – U.S. soybeans rose for a second straight session on Thursday, extending two-day gains to nearly 1 percent, as fresh Chinese buying reignited concerns about tight U.S. supplies.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Chicago Board Of Trade July soybeans rose 0.23 percent to $15.01-1/4 a bushel, having firmed 0.61 percent on Wednesday.

* July corn was little changed at $4.72-1/4 a bushel, having gained 0.59 percent in the previous session.

* July wheat was little changed at $6.38-1/2 a bushel, having closed down 1.8 percent on Wednesday.

* USDA said China bought 110,000 tonnes of soybeans for delivery in the new-crop marketing year, the eighth such “flash” sale this month.

* Trading volumes spiked in the previous session while open interest in grains futures declined, suggesting liquidation of long bullish bets by investors.

* The volume moves came after U.S. regulatory data last week showed that speculative traders, a category that includes hedge funds, reduced long holdings in corn and soybeans and switched to a net short in wheat futures.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its weekly crop report that U.S. winter wheat was rated 31 percent good to excellent as of May 25, up 2 percentage points from a week earlier.

* The USDA also said that corn planting was 88 percent complete as of May 25, matching analysts’ expectations as well as the five-year average.

MARKET NEWS

* The U.S. dollar hovered at a two-month high against a basket of major currencies early in Asia on Thursday, having benefited from a shake out of long positions in sterling and further weakness in the euro.

* U.S. crude fell more than $1 a barrel on Wednesday as traders took profits ahead of a government inventory report that is expected to show a build in crude stocks, while Brent edged lower, propped up by geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and Libya.

* The S&P 500 snapped a four-session winning streak on Wednesday to end just shy of a third straight record closing high.