Chicago agricultural commodities settle higher

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close higher on Wednesday with soybean futures rising on commodity fund buying at the start of a new month along with fresh export demand.

March delivery rose 8.5 cents, or 2.36 percent, to 3.6825 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery added 13 cents, or 3.09 percent, to 4.3375 dollars per bushel. March soybeans rose 12.25 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 10.3675 dollars per bushel.

Soybeans rallied as trade resumed after the daily 45-minute pause, supported by confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that private exporters sold 236,700 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations in the last day.

CBOT soybean futures had been in retreat for the last week as improving weather bolstered soy crop prospects in South America, after mid-January floods in Argentina lifted futures to a six-month high.

Speculators also appeared to be investing in grains on the first day of February.

Corn got a boost when the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported production of corn-based ethanol in the latest week rose to a record-high 1.06 million barrels per day, surpassing a peak struck earlier in January.

However, ethanol futures fell after the EIA data showed that stocks of the corn-based biofuel rose to 21.87million barrels, the most since May.

CBOT wheat posted the biggest advance in the grains complex on a percentage basis, but traders said the move was primarily technical. Commodity funds hold a large net short position in CBOT wheat futures, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering. Endit