CHICAGO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures turned higher on short-covering and technical buying on Wednesday as the market bounced after the front-month contract matched a three-year low, analysts said.
Corn futures also advanced in a recovery from recent three-year lows, while wheat futures fell under pressure from bumper Russian production.
Speculative investors have amassed large net short positions in the markets, leaving them vulnerable to short-covering.
Ample global supplies and competition for U.S. soy and corn export business continue to limit gains, analysts said. Soybean futures eased earlier as cheaper South American supplies make U.S. soy less competitive globally.
"The fundamentals of the soybean market are mostly bearish," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage. "However, little rallies to correct an oversold condition like we saw earlier in the week are certainly possible."
Front-month soybean futures were up 4-1/2 cents at $11.35-3/4 a bushel by noon CST (1800 GMT), after dropping to $11.24-3/4. That matched Monday's low, which was the weakest price for a nearby contract since November 2020.
Most-active soybeans gained 4-1/2 cents at $11.45-1/4. Most-active CBOT corn was up 5 cents at $4.28-1/2 a bushel, while wheat was down 9 cents at $5.75-1/4.
Recent declines in open interest in CBOT soybeans and corn signal sell-offs in the markets are running out of momentum, said Jim Gerlach, president of brokerage A/C Trading.
Still, advancing soy harvests in Brazil are bringing fresh supplies to the world market, while Argentina is slated to start harvesting in April. Brazilian industry group Abiove cut its estimate for Brazil's 2024 soybean output.
"The trend for soybeans is down and it will keep going down," said Rabobank analyst Vitor Pistoia, adding that his bank forecast prices falling to $11 by the end of the year.
Traders are watching for deliveries against CBOT March contracts on first notice day on Thursday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is separately slated to issue weekly grain and soy export sales data on Thursday. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Additional reporting by Peter Hobson and Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Eileen Soreng, Mark Potter and Richard Chang)
