FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were up 0.2 percent to $8.59 a bushel by 0101 GMT, having firmed 0.3 percent on Wednesday when prices hit a high of $8.63-1/2 a bushel – the highest since July 11.
* The most active corn futures were up 0.1 percent to $3.61-1/4 a bushel, having gained 0.3 percent in the previous session.
* The most active wheat futures were unchanged at $4.94-1/2 a bushel, having closed down 0.7 percent on Wednesday. Wheat is up nearly 5 percent over the past six sessions.
* China’s buyers have loaded up on soybeans from Brazil, instead of the United States, because of a 25 percent tariff on imports of U.S. soy that Beijing enacted on July 6 after weeks of threats.
* China’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. soybeans have triggered bargain shopping by importers in other countries stocking up on cheap U.S. supplies.
* More buying emerged on Thursday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture said exporters struck deals to sell 199,500 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to Pakistan for delivery in the 2018-19 marketing year.
* For wheat, dryness in European Union countries has coincided with declining harvest prospects in Russia, the world’s largest exporter of the grain.
* Underscoring the impact of parched conditions in northern Europe, Germany’s farming association DBV said it was unable to estimate the size of the wheat crop.
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar retreated from a three-week high on Wednesday as investors cashed in on gains the currency made after two days of testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reinforced a strong economic outlook.
* Oil prices rose on Wednesday after U.S. government data indicated bullish demand for gasoline and distillates, which overshadowed a surprise build in U.S. crude inventories and U.S. crude oil production hitting 11 million bpd for the first time.
* The S&P 500 rose to its highest in more than five months and the Dow climbed for a fifth session on Wednesday as solid earnings boosted financial and industrial stocks and reinforced expectations for a strong second-quarter reporting season.
