CHICAGO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures rose on Thursday after China said imports will likely stay high as it sets an all-time record for purchases of the crop this year while weather remains a concern in Brazil.
Wheat prices also rose, while corn dropped on reports of higher U.S. yields.
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) December wheat settled up 3-3/4 cents at $5.65-1/2 per bushel while December corn ended down 5 cents at $7.70 a bushel.
Benchmark CBOT soybeans settled up 13-1/4 cents $13.28-1/4 a bushel as China's demand was a focal point. China's soybean imports are likely to stay high through the fourth quarter, taking 2023 purchases to an all-time record, analysts and traders said.
Hopes for Chinese demand of U.S. soybeans were buoyed by news that U.S. agriculture industry representatives met with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Thursday in an effort to bolster farm trade even as political ties between their two countries remain strained.
"So maybe that's what got the market going a little bit," said Sherman Newlin, an analyst with Risk Management Commodities.
Another pressure-mounting factor was the weather in Brazil where concerns persist over threats of crop losses due to dryness in northern and central areas and excessive rain in the south.
"The market is a little bit on the nervous side," Newlin said. "They're putting a little premium back into it."
Wheat drew support from a decline in the dollar, which tends to make U.S. grains more competitive globally. It also was supported by fresh concerns over claims that Russia dropped explosives in a Black Sea grain shipping route.
On the flip side, corn futures were down ahead of next week's U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly supply/demand reports that some analysts expect to show an increase in the harvest yield, Newlin said.
"I've been hearing it's pretty good yields out there in the countryside for the most part," he said. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
