Chicago agricultural commodities settle higher

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close higher Wednesday, with soybean futures rising on technical buying, export demand and spillover strength from crude oil.

Corn tracked soybeans higher while wheat settled modestly firmer after a choppy session.

The most active corn contract for December delivery rose 3.75 cents, or 1.06 percent, to 3.575 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery added 0.25 cents, or 0.06 percent, to 4.2025 dollars per bushel. November soybeans rose 9 cents, or 0.93 percent, to 9.815 dollars per bushel.

Soybeans and soyoil futures drew support as U.S. crude oil futures hit 15-month highs after the government reported a surprisingly large drop in domestic inventories.

Soyoil is tied to energy markets because of its use as feedstock for biodiesel fuel.

Soybeans drew additional support after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that private exporters sold 185,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations for delivery in the 2016/17 marketing year.

The firm tone was impressive, given the fact that U.S. farmers are in the thick of the harvest of record-large soybean and corn crops.

Corn drew support from bullish weekly data on ethanol, which is made from corn. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that ethanol production last week increased by 36,000 barrels per day while stocks of the biofuel fell by 351,000 barrels.

Wheat futures finished modestly higher. Commodity funds hold a large net short position in CBOT wheat, leaving the market vulnerable to periodic short-covering rallies. Endit