Soybeans climb to 2-1/2 month highs on strong exports

Chicago soybean futures climbed on Thursday, supported by strong export demand, pushing the oilseed to nearly three-month highs.

Wheat traded near even after Wednesday's rebound from a one-year low, although prices remained capped by competition from record high Russian supplies. Corn followed soybeans higher.

Movements in grains were limited as traders awaited monthly world crop forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ZS1! gained 14-1/4 cents to $14.86-1/4 a bushel, after climbing to $14.92-1/4, its highest since September 13.

CBOT wheat ZW1! ended down 3-1/4 cents at $7.46-1/4 a bushel, while corn ZC1! inched up 1-1/4 cents to settle at $6.42-1/2 a bushel.

U.S. exporters on Thursday morning reported sales of 118,000 tonnes of soybeans to China and 718,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2022/23 marketing year.

This marks the third flash sale of soybeans to China this week, spurring broader hopes that easing COVID-19 lockdown measures in China will boost demand for U.S. commodities.

For the week ended December 1, export sales of soybeans totaled 1.746 million tonnes, the USDA said, beating the high end of trade forecasts that ranged from 600,000 to 1.45 million tonnes.

"We used a lot of momentum to get up here, and it was good to see confirmation of those sales," said Chuck Shelby, president of Risk Management Commodities. "The weather in Argentina will probably dictate the direction after tomorrow."

Argentina's estimated area for 2022/23 soybeans could be cut due to the effects of prolonged drought in the region, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Wednesday.

Export demand for U.S. wheat continues to languish, with 189,800 tonnes sold in the week ended December 1, near the low end of analysts' forecasts ranging from 150,000 to 400,000 tonnes.

"Our export sales have been really dismal in the wheat market this year," said Jack Scoville, market analyst at The Price Futures Group.

Corn export sales for the week totaled 691,600 tonnes, in line with analysts' estimates for 300,000 to 1.075 million tonnes.