*
Corn and soy edge up on declining Argentine crop estimates
*
Wheat supported by weak dollar, Russian export quotas
(Updates prices for market close)
By Heather Schlitz
CHICAGO, March 13 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade
corn and soybean futures turned higher on Thursday, after
private estimates for Argentina's corn and soy crops fell,
analysts said.
Wheat futures also rose after Russia's IKAR cut its wheat
export forecasts, sparking buying interest in U.S. wheat
futures.
However, traders remained cautious given twists and turns in
U.S. President Donald Trump's ongoing tariff war.
"The tariff situation is clouding the situation a little
bit," Mark Soderberg, analyst at ADM Investor Services, said.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade
settled up 4-1/2 cents to $4.65-1/4 a bushel. CBOT
soybeans settled up 10-1/4 cents at $10.10-3/4 per bushel
and CBOT wheat settled up 8-1/2 cents at $5.62-1/2 a
bushel.
Argentina's Rosario Grains Exchange lowered its outlooks for
the nation's 2024-25 corn and soy harvests on Wednesday, adding
support to U.S. corn and soy futures.
"Those numbers are having an impact," said Jim Gerlach,
president of A/C Trading.
Soybean futures also received a boost from
higher-than-expected weekly U.S. soybean export sales. However,
expectations for a massive soybean harvest in top-supplier
Brazil continue to hang over futures.
Grain markets were unsettled on Wednesday by the
implementation of increased U.S. tariffs on all steel and
aluminum imports, prompting the European Union and Canada to
announce retaliatory duties on a range of U.S. goods.
The EU package, which could see the bloc reintroduce a 25%
duty on U.S. corn and potentially add a tariff on U.S. soybeans,
added to concern about disruption to U.S. exports caused by
President Donald Trump's tariff offensive.