CHICAGO, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures rose for the third consecutive day over massive buying, boosted by dry weather impacting Brazil and upcoming trade talks between China and the United States.
CBOT brokers estimated that funds on Friday bought 3,100 contracts of soybeans, 4,000 contracts of corn, and 1,800 contracts of wheat.
Adverse weather conditions in South America have uplifted CBOT futures, especially soybean and corn prices, as dryness is expected to hit more than a third of Brazil's crop areas this month.
Additional support came from official confirmation that China and the United States will hold vice ministerial level trade consultations next week.
China has been the world's top soybean buyer. Any positive development concerning the trade talks between the two sides will boost U.S. soybean prices.
At the end of the session, CBOT March corn was up 3.25 cents, or 0.86 percent to close at 3.83 dollars per bushel. March wheat was also up 3.25 cents, or 0.63 percent to settle at 5.17 dollars. March soybeans were up 8.75 cents, or 0.96 percent to close at 9.215 dollars per bushel.
