CANBERRA: Chicago corn futures held their gains on Thursday, after rising nearly 2% in the previous session on the coattails of a stock market rally triggered by Donald Trump's re-election as U.S. president.

Wheat futures held steady and soybeans rose, helped by strong soyoil prices.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was unchanged at $4.26-1/4 a bushel at 0154 GMT, after climbing 1.9% on Wednesday.

* CBOT soybean was 0.5% higher at $10.08-1/4 a bushel and wheat flat at $5.73-1/4 a bushel. Both had eked out small gains on Wednesday.

* All three contracts initially fell as it became clearer that Trump would win, raising the threat of another trade war with top importer China and boosting the U.S. dollar.

* However, even as a strong dollar made U.S. farm goods costlier for overseas buyers, prices soon rebounded as equities surged and traders realised that Trump would have to wait until his inauguration in January 2025 to enact any policy.

* The 47th president of the U.S. has pledged to impose 60% tariff on Chinese goods and at least 10% on all other imports.

* China could retaliate by buying fewer U.S. crops, but this wouldn't bite until the next harvest in mid-2025, analysts said.

* Broad tariff hikes could also curb U.S. imports of used cooking oil by biofuels producers, raising demand for domestically-produced soyoil. CBOT soyoil held its gains.

* Meanwhile, solid U.S. export demand underpinned corn and soybean prices and dry conditions in the Black Sea, the world's biggest wheat export hub, and Russian export restrictions supported wheat.

* Russia's wheat export curbs helped Ukraine secure sales to Egypt this week, while also making Egypt pay higher prices, traders said.

* Farming areas in northern Argentina will likely see significant rainfall next week, benefiting crops, according to a forecast from the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange (BdeC).

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture will update monthly crop estimates on Friday, which could move prices.

 

MARKETS NEWS

* Wall Street tore to record highs on Wednesday and major stock markets around the world surged, bitcoin hit an all-time-high and the dollar was set for its biggest one-day jump in four years after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Sumana Nandy)