Investing.com - U.S. grain futures were mixed on Tuesday, with soybean prices extending gains from the previous session to hit a two-week high amid ongoing indications of robust export demand for U.S. supplies.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, soybeans futures for March delivery traded at USD12.9838 a bushel, up 0.3%. Prices of the oilseed rose to a session high of USD12.9863 a bushel earlier, the strongest level since December 31.
The March soy contract settled 1.23% higher on Monday to end at USD12.9420 a bushel after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that export inspections for soybeans were 59.381 million bushels, beating forecasts for 45 million to 50 million bushels.
The agency also said that private exporters reported the sale of 140,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations. Market participants commonly interpret listings of sales to "unknown destinations" as a sign of Chinese buying.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest soybean consumer and is expected to account for nearly 60% of global trade of the grain.
Meanwhile, corn futures for March delivery traded at USD4.3263 a bushel, down 0.2%. The March contract held in a range between USD4.3138 a bushel and USD4.3388 a bushel.
CBOT March corn rose to USD4.3540 a bushel on Monday, the highest since December 24, before trimming gains to settle at USD4.3440 a bushel, up 0.4%.
The USDA said last week that the U.S. corn crop that was harvested last fall totaled 13.925 billion bushels, 0.5% lower than its December estimate of 13.989 billion and confounding expectations for a harvest of 14.053 billion bushels.
Corn yields averaged 158.8 bushels an acre, down from an estimate of 160.4 bushels in December. Analysts had been looking for an increase to 161.2 bushels.
The USDA also unexpectedly cut its outlook for corn stockpiles at the end of the 2013-14 season in August by 9% to 1.631 billion bushels. Analysts had forecast the inventories estimate would rise to 1.844 billion bushels.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, wheat for March delivery traded at USD5.7363 a bushel, up 0.1%. Wheat prices traded in a tight range between USD5.7063 a bushel and USD5.7413 a bushel.
The March contract settled 0.79% higher on Monday to end at USD5.7340 a bushel amid speculation global demand for the grain will increase after prices fell to a three-year low last week.
Wheat plunged to USD5.6040 a bushel on Friday, the lowest since July 12, 2010 after the USDA said that U.S. wheat stockpiles in the season ending May 31 will total 608 million bushels, up from 575 million projected last month.
The agency also forecast global supplies of the grain at 185.4 million tonnes, up 1.4% from a December estimate of 182.8 million tonnes.
Wheat prices sold off in recent weeks as increased production in Australia and Canada underlined concerns over ample global supplies.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.