Investing.com - U.S. soybean and corn futures were higher on Monday, as investors returned to the market amid speculation lower prices will increase near-term demand for U.S. supplies.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, U.S. soybeans for September delivery climbed 0.89%, or 9.9 cents, to trade at $11.2350 a bushel during U.S. morning hours.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week reported bigger-than-expected weekly export figures of the oilseed, boosting hopes global demand for U.S. supplies will increase after prices fell to a multi-year low earlier in the month.
The September soybean contract slumped to a two-and-a-half-year low $11.5320 on July 15 as indications of ample global supplies drove prices lower.
The USDA raised its forecast for the U.S. soybean harvest by 4.5% to a record 3.8 billion bushels earlier in the month. The agency also increased its forecast for soybean inventories by 12% to 140 million bushels.
Meanwhile, U.S. corn for September delivery tacked on 0.35%, or 1.27 cents, to trade at $3.6488 a bushel, as investors sought cheap valuations in wake of recent losses.
Corn prices fell to a four-year low of $3.5640 a bushel on July 24 as ongoing expectations for a record U.S. harvest continued to weigh.
The USDA said earlier in the month that U.S. corn inventories at the end of August will total 1.246 billion bushels, up 8% from its forecast in June.
According to the agency, nearly 76% of the U.S. corn crop was rated “good” to “excellent” as of last week, the highest rating for this time of year since 2004.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, U.S. wheat for September delivery sank 0.98%, or 5.28 cents, to trade at $5.3313 a bushel.
Wheat prices fell to a four-year low of $5.2020 a bushel on July 23 as harvest progress in the northern hemisphere underlined the view of ample global supplies.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.