Grains: Wheat and corn higher after slide, soybeans stay firm

Grains: Wheat and corn higher after slide, soybeans stay firm

PARIS/BEIJING - Chicago wheat and corn futures rose on Thursday to recover from two-month lows as liquidation by investment funds abated and traders saw supply tensions persisting despite talks to reopen Ukrainian ports blocked since Russia's invasion.

A large wheat purchase by Egypt and a report the U.S. government may retroactively raise an ethanol blending mandate lent support to cereal markets.

Soybeans ticked higher for a second day, underpinned by export demand. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 1.2% at $10.53-3/4 bushel.

On Wednesday, it touched its lowest since early April after a two-day slide. Traders said the pullback in wheat was fuelled by diplomatic efforts to create a Black Sea shipping channel for Ukrainian grain, along with improved weather for North American and European crops.

However, there was caution about the likelihood of a deal over Ukrainian ports while fighting continues in Ukraine and as Moscow seeks sanctions concessions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies.

"Hopes are high, but reality is harsh," a China-based trader said of the situation in Ukraine. Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), said on Wednesday it bought 465,000 tonnes of wheat in an international tender. The