Investing.com - U.S. grain futures were mixed on Wednesday, with soybean prices trading near 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 USD13.1075 a bushel, up 0.3%. Prices of the oilseed held in a range between USD13.0538 a bushel and USD13.1163 a bushel.
The March soy contract rallied to USD13.1660 a bushel on Tuesday, the highest since December 27, before trimming gains to settle at USD13.0700 a bushel, up 0.99%.
Soybean prices have been well-supported in recent sessions as indications of strong export demand underpinned gains.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said earlier in the week 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, wheat for March delivery traded at USD5.7913 a bushel, up 0.1%. Wheat prices traded in a tight range between USD5.7625 a bushel and USD5.7963 a bushel.
The March contract settled 1% higher on Tuesday to end at USD5.7920 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.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, corn futures for March delivery traded at USD4.3013 a bushel, down 0.2%. The March contract held in a range between USD4.2988 a bushel and USD4.3138 a bushel.
CBOT March corn ended down 0.69% on Tuesday to settle at USD4.3140 a bushel.
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.
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.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.