Soybeans hit 17-month high as market braces for US data

Chicago soybeans rose on Thursday to their highest in nearly 17 months as traders awaited a U.S. crop report expected to lower the harvest yield forecast while also bracing for the resumption of export data to give clues on Chinese buying. Wheat fell, with a projection of a record Argentine crop reinforcing expectations of ample global supply. Corn ticked down. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is scheduled to release on Friday its first global supply and demand outlook since September, a delay linked to a federal government shutdown that has disrupted official data. With the shutdown due to end after Wednesday’s adoption of short-term funding legislation, traders are watching to see when the USDA will relaunch daily and weekly reporting of export sales. The absence of the export statistics has heightened uncertainty over whether China has purchased U.S. crops since agreeing to a trade truce with Washington in late October. U.S. officials have said China pledged to buy 12 ...