March 2 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat and corn futures held firm in Asian trading on Thursday, supported by bargain-buying following recent falls, while soybeans were little changed.
Ample global supplies and expectations of a renewal of the Black Sea grain export deal, however, kept wheat's gains in check.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active wheat contract, Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), was up 0.3% at $7.12-1/4 a bushel, as of 0303 GMT. It dropped to its lowest since September 2021 earlier this week.
* Corn rose 0.6% to $6.39-1/2 a bushel, while soybeans was nearly flat at $14.93-3/4 a bushel.
* Russia said on Wednesday it would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal, which allows grain to be safely exported from Ukrainian ports, if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account.
* Feed millers in Asia are boosting corn purchases from India, as a severe drought has reduced production in traditional supplier Argentina, two traders said on Thursday.
* The Indian government plans to buy about 34 million tonnes of new-season wheat from local farmers to shore up state reserves after purchases dropped last year because of a poor harvest, two government sources said.
* Brazilian farmers will reap a record soybean crop of 154.663 million tonnes in 2023, exceeding a prior February estimate of 154.209 million tonnes, according to statement from StoneX on Wednesday.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, soybean, wheat, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.
MARKET NEWS
* A rally in Asian shares sputtered on Thursday, pressured by a pullback in Chinese stocks and higher U.S. yields amid fears that global central banks would keep raising interest rates to combat sticky inflation.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1000 EU HICP Flash YY Feb
1000 EU HICP-X F, E, A&T Flash YY, MM Feb
1000 EU Unemployment Rate Jan
1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly
(Reporting by Enrico Dela Cruz in Manila; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
