Chicago corn, soybeans, wheat up on short covering

Chicago Board of Trade corn, soybeans and wheat futures closed higher on Wednesday on short- covering, one day after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cut its outlook for wheat and corn stockpiles in its monthly supply-and-demand report.

The most active corn contract for May delivery rose 3 cents, or 0.77 percent, to close at 3.91 U.S. dollars per bushel. Wheat for May delivery added 5.75 cents, or 1.17 percent, to close at 4.99 dollars per bushel. May soybeans gained 8.25 cents, or 0.84 percent, to close at 9.9275 dollars per bushel.

Corn, soybeans and wheat all post solid gains on technical buying. Some commercial traders cited jitters triggered by rumors about Brazil planning massive protest on Sunday, while others said that funds were returning to commodities following the recent volatility of global equity markets.

"There does not appear to be any large U.S. or world grain demand that would justify a rally with the U.S. dollar sharply higher and other commodity markets coming off their highs this morning. Look for selling going home," said AgResource company, a Chicago-based agricultural research institute.

The weekly ethanol production report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed a small gain in production and a modest fall in inventory, somewhat supporting corn futures. U.S. ethanol production through the week ending March 6 was up 1.5 percent to 944,000 barrels per day, while inventories fell 1.6 percent due to shrinking production and rising export demand. Stocks of U.S. ethanol are still at 3-year highs.

Meanwhile, a suspect case of avian flu has been identified in poultry in Arkansas, the USDA said on Tuesday. The infection, if confirmed, could threatens to further limit U.S. poultry export trade. Analysts believed that it will have a bearish impact on grain feed demand if the U.S. poultry industry is not able to sell chicken overseas. Endite