Chicago agricultural commodities close mixed

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close mixed on Tuesday with soybean futures rallying, as another round of export deals with Asian markets and concerns about dry weather in Argentina pushing prices higher.

The most active corn contract for March delivery rose 1.25 cents, or 0.35 percent, to 3.605 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery fell 1.5 cents, or 0.37 percent, to 4.0675 dollars per bushel. January soybeans rose 4.25 cents, or 0.41 percent, to 10.4775 dollars per bushel.

Short covering lent support to corn and wheat futures but gains in the grains were limited by ample supplies.

Soybeans received additional support from a rally in the palm oil market and technical buying after the market briefly dipped during the overnight trading session.

Malaysian palm oil futures hit their highest level over 4 years on Tuesday, reversing losses earlier in the day, after data indicated that output fell at the start of the month.

The U.S. Agriculture Department(USDA) on Tuesday morning said that private exporters reported the sale of 198,000 tonnes of soybeans to China for delivery during the 2016/17 marketing year and 378,000 tonnes of soybeans to unknown destinations, split between 2016/17 and 2017/18.

USDA also said that exporters sold 276,000 tonnes of corn to South Korea for 2016/17 shipment. The deal helped buoy the corn market after a choppy overnight session.

The wheat market has been searching for a foothold and traders said cold weather risks for U.S. wheat plus the prospect of lower plantings for the next U.S. harvest could help prices.

But expectations for bumper crops in other parts of the world continued to hamper the market. Enditem