Chicago wheat, corn, soybeans rebound from previous declines

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat, corn and soybean futures bounced back modestly on Wednesday as investors went bargain hunting after U.S. crop prices fell to multi-year lows a day earlier.

Chicago wheat led the gains as the most active wheat contract for May delivery rose 4.25 cents, or 0.95 percent, to close at 4.5025 dollars per bushel. Soybean for May delivery gained 3.5 cents, or 0.41 percent, to close at 8.615 U.S. dollars per bushel. May corn added 0.5 cent, or 0.14 percent, to close at 3.5625 dollars per bushel.

Analysts said short covering was the feature of the day after Chicago wheat hit a nearly six-year low in the previous session, and corn, soybeans logged a six-day losing streak with soybean prices refreshing a seven-year low a day ago.

The weaker greenback also help sending Chicago grains and soy higher on Wednesday. The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against six major currencies, fell by more than 0.1 percent in the session despite upbeat U.S. employment data, adding the appeal of dollar-denominated commodities.

The weekly ethanol production report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration Wednesday showed a modest drop in production and inventories, which was seen as neutral to corn future. U.S. ethanol production through the week ending on Feb. 26 was down 0.7 percent from the prior week, to 987,000 barrels per day.

The decline in U.S. ethanol production triggered a modest drop in ethanol stocks. However, U.S. ethanol stocks were still well above the level a year ago, according to analysts.

Informa, a private analytics firm on Wednesday raised its estimate of Brazil's soybean production by 800,000 tons to 101.3 million tons versus 100 million tons of the estimate of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but lowered its outlook for Argentina's production by one million tons. Enditem