(Reuters) – U.S. soybean rose on Thursday as the market snapped two sessions of decline on concerns over a truckers strike in Brazil which could curb supplies to ports in the country’s peak export season.
Corn was little changed from Wednesday’s one-month low, while wheat gained on short-covering although gains in both commodities were capped by ample supplies and slow demand.
Chicago Board Of Trade May soybeans rose 0.4 percent to $9.74-1/4 a bushel by 1115 GMT, having closed down 0.5 percent on Wednesday.
Corn dropped 0.07 percent to $3.72-1/4 a bushel after dropping in the previous session to $3.69-1/4 a bushel, the lowest since March 18.
CBOT wheat rose 0.4 percent to $5.00-1/2 a bushel while May milling wheat futures in Paris were unchanged at 183.50 euros a tonne.
“Brazilian truckers’ strike could force importers to switch to U.S. products which is supportive for prices,” said Kaname Gokon, general manager of research at brokerage Okato Shoji in Tokyo.
Independent truckers in Brazil plan to hold another strike starting at midnight after failing to get concessions from the government or logistic companies on pay and diesel fuel prices, representatives of the drivers said.
In early March, truckers agreed to end a strike that choked deliveries of food, fuel, exports and industry supplies for more than a week after entering talks to secure a national scale for freight rates and a reduction in diesel prices.
Corn came under pressure from worries that a bird flu outbreak in the United States could curb demand.
Iowa, the top U.S. egg-producing state, found a lethal strain of bird flu in millions of hens at an egg-laying facility on Monday, the worst case so far in a national outbreak that prompted Wisconsin to declare a state of emergency.
“There are concerns in the market that the bird flu virus could be effective which would reduce demand for corn and if it continues to spread we could see a fall in demand for corn,” said Hamish Smith, commodities economist at Capital Economics.
“As a short term shock it would be a reason for a fall in prices but generally we think the market is well supplied and we expect the price of corn to fall this year; there are ample supplies globally.”
Ample global supplies of wheat and limited export demand for high-priced U.S. supplies anchored wheat prices, but a large net short position held by commodity funds in the market has led to short-covering bounces at times.
