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Run of importer demand helps counter harvest pressure in

wheat

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Corn, soybeans edge away from 2020 lows as weather watched

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Soybeans end mixed as firm cash markets lift nearby

futures

(Updates with closing U.S. prices)

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose

1.6% on Wednesday on bargain buying one day after a drop in

prices to four-month lows appeared to spur fresh export

business, traders said.

Corn futures ended firm while soybeans were mixed, but both

markets hovered near their lowest levels in nearly four years.

Benchmark wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade

settled up 8-1/2 cents at $5.39-1/4 per bushel, a day after

falling to $5.25-1/4, the lowest on a continuous chart of the

most-active contract since March 11.

CBOT corn ended up 3 cents at $4.11-3/4 a bushel. For

soybeans, the nearby August contract rose 6-3/4 cents to

finish at $10.97-1/4 a bushel while most-active November

fell 2-1/4 cents at $10.41.

Wheat's rebound reflected a flurry of global export deals.

Algeria's state grains agency bought about 600,000 metric tons

of milling wheat in an international tender, European traders

said. And Egypt's state buyer booked 770,000 metric tons of

mostly Russian wheat on Tuesday, its biggest single purchase

since 2022.

Asian wheat buyers, meanwhile, have stepped up purchases in

recent weeks, taking cargoes from the Black Sea region.

"End users see some value at these price levels," StoneX

chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman said in a client

note.

A decline in the dollar lent support to CBOT futures,

in theory making U.S. grains more competitive globally. The

dollar eased as top Federal Reserve officials indicated they

were getting closer to cutting interest rates.

CBOT corn inched higher but generally favorable crop weather

in the Midwest hung over the market, capping rallies by

bolstering expectations for large U.S. harvests. The corn crop

is in the midst of pollination, its key reproductive phase.

"The month of July as a whole is expected to end up wetter

than normal across most of the Corn Belt ... which will be quite

favorable for development of corn and soybeans," satellite

technology company Maxar said in a note.

Midwest farmers are still assessing crop damage from severe

storms and strong winds that raked the region on Monday, Maxar

noted.

While the weather outlook pressured new-crop November

soybean futures, the nearby August contract rose for a

second session on firm cash markets. U.S. farmers have been

reluctant sellers of what remains of their 2023 harvest,

supporting cash bids for soybeans at a time when improved crush

margins have spurred demand from soy processors, traders said.