CANBERRA, March 25 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures rose to a three-week high on Monday amid concerns over the French crop and tensions in the Black Sea, although ample supply kept prices near multi-year lows.
Soybean futures edged higher, while corn fell slightly.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.5% at $5.57-1/4 a bushel, as of 0043 GMT. The contract rose to $5.60 in early trade, its highest since March 5.
* CBOT soybeans were up 0.1% at $11.93-1/2 a bushel, while corn fell 0.1% to $4.39 a bushel.
* All three contracts have risen in recent weeks from their lowest levels since 2020. Traders say this is partly due to speculators trimming net short positions that had swelled to the biggest in years.
* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT wheat futures on Friday, traders said.
* Farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday that 66% of French soft wheat was rated as in good or excellent condition by March 18, down from 94% a year ago.
* Russia, meanwhile, launched an attack against energy infrastructure in Ukraine, a significant grain exporter.
* The wheat market has been amply supplied by Russia, which has seen two consecutive large harvests and expects a third this year, driving prices lower.
* Russian farmers say they are considering reducing wheat acreage in favour of higher-margin crops like soybeans and peas, though analysts said they did not see this as a significant threat to the 2024 crop.
* The European Commission proposed imposing tariffs on imports of grain from Russia and Belarus, in part to placate farmers who have protested cheap imports.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is due to publish a planting intentions report on Thursday. Analysts estimate that U.S. farmers will plant more soybeans and less corn and wheat this season than in the previous one.
* The U.S. dollar held near last week's one-month high. A stronger dollar makes U.S. farm products less attractive to importers, pressuring Chicago prices.
* Heavy rainfall that battered Argentina at the start of this month should ease up in the coming weeks, the Rosario Stock Exchange said, which could help crops recover and farmers harvest their plants as soil begins to dry. Argentina is a major soy exporter.
* Despite economic concerns, Chinese agricultural demand is expected to remain strong this year, particularly when it comes to imports of bulk commodities like soybeans, corn and other grains.
* Ukrainian regions have sowed 214,500 hectares of spring wheat, peas, barley and oats, the agriculture ministry said.
MARKETS NEWS
* Asian shares inched higher as investors hoped U.S. inflation data this week would not derail the outlook for lower interest rates, while the risk of currency intervention from Japan stalled the yen's decline for the moment. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
