Wheat rebounds from near four-month low; global supplies cap gains

U.S. wheat edged higher on Thursday, rebounding from a near four-month low touched in the previous session, though ample global supplies provided a ceiling to gains.

Corn rose nearly 1 percent, recouping about a third of the losses from the previous session, while soybeans rose more than 0.5 percent.

The most active wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.4 percent to $4.46-1/4 a bushel by 0541 GMT, after closing down 2.8 percent on Wednesday when prices hit a near four-month low of $4.43-3/4 a bushel.

Corn gained 0.9 percent to $3.86-1/2 a bushel and soybean climbed 0.6 percent to $11.19-1/2 a bushel.

For the quarter, soybeans are up almost 23 percent, touching the biggest three-month gain since the end of 2010. Corn has risen 10 percent, snapping three quarters of decline and wheat is down almost 6 percent.

Despite wheat gaining on Thursday, analysts said wheat still continues to come under pressure from ample global supplies as production prospects in the United States brighten.

"Russia's wheat harvest is now underway, so U.S. wheat will soon be under more pressure to price itself to move against the Black Sea crops," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Traders noted some position squaring ahead of a widely watched U.S. government report later in the session.

Analysts expect the U.S Department of Agriculture to increase soybean sowings.

U.S. farmers may have increased soybean sowings to 83.8 million acres this year, up from the USDA's March estimate of 82.2 million acres, analysts said ahead of the release of the USDA's annual acreage report on Thursday.

As they switched to soybeans, U.S. farmers may have cut down corn plantings to 92.8 million acres from 93.6 million acres as forecasted by the USDA in March.