Chicago agricultural commodities settle higher on export deals, short-covering

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures settled higher Wednesday with soybean futures rising to their highest in nearly four weeks on strong demand from China, the world's top buyer of the oil seed.

Corn and wheat futures posted mild gains on a round of short-covering. It was corn's fourth positive close in a row.

The most active corn contract for December delivery was up 2.5 cents, or 0.74 percent, to 3.3975 dollars per bushel. September wheat delivery rose 2.5 cents, or 0.59 percent, to 4.26 dollars per bushel. November soybeans rose 8.75 cents, or 0.87 percent, to 10.16 dollars per bushel.

The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Wednesday morning that private exporters reported the sale of 381,000 tonnes of soybeans to China for delivery during the 2016/17 marketing year.

"Soybeans are providing at least a little lift to the grain market today, with concerns over a big crop muted by strong demand," Bryce Knorr, senior grain market analyst at Farm Futures, said in a note.

A global glut of wheat and expectations for a record corn harvest in the United States quelled buying in the grains. The upcoming U.S. soybean harvest also has been forecast as the biggest on record, but a recent spate of export activity underpinned the market. Endit