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Flurry of export sales pushes corn and soy higher

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Brisk pace of US harvest is limiting price rally

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Wheat futures up on spillover support from corn

(Updates with settlement prices)

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean and corn

futures turned higher on Tuesday as a flurry of export sales

helped stem market pressure from a fast-moving U.S. harvest and

improved planting weather in South America, analysts said.

Wheat also gained strength from corn futures and as market

players weighed Russian steps to regulate wheat exports,

including through a reported price floor for selling in

international tenders.

Market participants are focused on demand when global grain

supplies are voluminous and U.S. farmers are harvesting a

massive crop, analysts said. Typically, U.S. grain prices are

lower in the fall, as new crop arrives at rural grain elevators

and commercial merchandisers.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of

Trade (CBOT) settled up 10-3/4 cents at $9.91-3/4 per

bushel, while CBOT corn settled up 7 cents at $4.16-1/2 a

bushel. CBOT wheat settled up 3-3/4 cent to $5.76 per

bushel.

"There's been no harvest pressure," Tom Fritz, broker at EFG

Group, said. "The producer doesn't want to sell anything. We've

got some export demand in fear of the possible outcome of the

election."

U.S. soybean export premiums are at their highest in 14

months, as grain merchants race to ship out a record large U.S.

harvest ahead of the U.S. presidential election, fearing renewed

trade tensions with top importer China, traders and analysts

said.

Corn and soybean sales on Monday and an additional corn sale

early on Tuesday suggested buying interest after corn and

soybean futures hit multi-week lows last week.

The U.S. soybean and corn harvest were both ahead of their

five-year average pace, according to a weekly U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) report issued after Monday's market close.

For wheat, showers in parts of southern Russia and the U.S.

Plains were expected to help planting and ease concerns over

dryness.