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Chicago soybean futures rose on Thursday, mainly supported by a fall in the dollar and a further rebound in oil prices, but trading was hesitant ahead of next week's U.S. presidential election, traders said.
Corn and wheat futures edged lower.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.4% at $9.95-1/2 a bushel by 1208 GMT after gaining more than 1% in the previous session.
Corn fell 0.3% to $4.10-1/4 a bushel and wheat was down 0.8% at $5.68-1/2 a bushel.
The dollar softened against other major currencies ahead of jobs data later this week and Tuesday's U.S. presidential election, while oil prices extended the previous day's rally on stronger than expected U.S. fuel demand and reports that producer group OPEC+ could delay a planned output increase.
Brazil's soy planted area was seen expanding 1.5% in the 2024/25 crop from the previous cycle to reach 47 million hectares, Rabobank said on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) raised its forecast for Argentina's 2024/2025 soybean production to 52 million metric tons on the 17.2 million hectares harvested, as producers shifted to more soy from corn over fears of the impact of corn stunt, continued low prices, and expected dry conditions.
The U.S. soybean crop is also plentiful, with the USDA saying that the harvest was 89% complete, ahead of the five-year average of 78%, with a record-large 2024 crop.
The USDA has confirmed private sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China, another 132,000 tons of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations and 273,048 tons of U.S. corn to unknown destinations for shipment in the 2024/25 marketing year.
China, the world's biggest buyer of soybeans, is willing to cooperate more closely with Russia in the soybean industry, its agriculture ministry said.
In Ukraine, a new system of minimum export prices for the country's grain and oilseed shipments is likely to be operational at the beginning of December, Ukrainian agriculture minister Vitaliy Koval said.
Commodity funds were net buyers of Chicago Board of Trade soybeans, soyoil and wheat futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu in Beijing and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Kirsten Donovan)