Soybean futures rose on Wednesday, as traders covered their shorts, sparked off by worries about the hot and dry weather that is expected in Brazil, the world's top soybean producer, which could threaten seeding.

Corn prices fell slightly in early U.S. harvest as the industry resisted making major moves.

Wheat prices fluctuated as traders weighed the diminished yields of wheat in the European Union against an influx of Black Sea exports.

As of 12 p.m. CST (1700 GMT), the most active wheat contract traded on the Chicago Board of Trade was down by 1-1/2 cents to $5.74-1/4 per bushel. Other crops saw CBOT corn fall 1-1/4 cents, to $4.11-1/4 bushels, while soybeans rose 3-1/4 to $10.09-1/4 bushels.

Maxar's analyst note said that a delayed rainy season has resulted in depleted moisture in large areas of Brazil, including Mato Grosso. This is one of Brazil’s most important soybean-growing states.

Conab, the Brazilian statistics agency, still projected Tuesday that the country's soybean crop for 2024/25 would be 166.28 millions metric tons. This is an increase of 12.8% over the previous season.

The lack of rain won't be alarming until the drought extends into October. This could delay the planting of soybeans.

In the United States traders are closely watching the rapid progress of the soy and corn crops, which will produce bumper yields.

Brian Basting, an analyst at Advance Trading, stated that they were in a waiting-and-seeing mode.

Chicago corn and soy futures are under pressure due to high yield expectations, but rains expected this weekend could hamper harvesting in certain areas.

The large exports of Black Sea wheat, which is cheap and plentiful, continued to put pressure on the wheat price despite the dry weather that has damaged some Black Sea crops as well as a lower forecast for French soft-wheat exports. Heather Schlitz reported from Chicago. Peter Hobson, Sybille De La Hamaide and Emelia Sithole Matarise contributed additional reporting.

(source: Reuters)