Soybeans, Corn, Wheat advance on rising investor confidence

Corn gained for a third day, and soybeans and wheat advanced, as concerns eased that Greece’s budget deficit may slow Europe’s economic recovery. Corn for March delivery gained as much as 0.3 per cent to $3.595 a bushel in after-hours electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade before trading at $3.5875 at 3:20 pm Singapore time. Soybeans for delivery in the same month added 0.2 per cent to $9.265. The USDA cut its world corn inventory estimate before the next northern hemisphere harvest to 134 million metric tonnes, from 136.2 million in January. That compares with stockpiles of 146 million tonnes the previous year. China, the world’s biggest soybean buyer, may import 42 million tonnes of the oilseed in the year through September, the China National Grain & Oils Information Center said today. That’s 2 million tonnes more than the center’s January forecast and 16 per cent higher than purchases a year earlier. The Asian nation boosted soybean imports by 34.5 per cent to 4.08 million metric tonnes in January from the previous year, the Beijing-based customs office said on its Web site today. Wheat for March delivery climbed as much as 0.8 per cent to $4.8625 a bushel and last traded at $4.84. Two South Korean groups issued a joint tender to buy 165,000 metric tonnes of wheat for feed production for delivery between July and August.