Soybeans edge up, still capped by South America supply
Corn and wheat were also higher.
Chicago Board of Trade March soybeans rose 0.5 percent to 9.77-1/4 a bushel by 1401 GMT, having closed down 1.5 percent on Wednesday.
Crude oil rebounded, buoyed by China's steps to pour liquidity into the world's second-biggest economy, lending support to crop markets like soybeans and corn that are used as feedstock for biofuels.
But analysts said the outlook for a record Brazilian harvest remained a drag on prices.
"Weather forecasters continue to expect timely rainfall in most Brazilian crop areas," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy for Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a note to clients.
"The Brazilian Real (is) continuing to tumble - improving the competitiveness of Brazil's soybeans - to close on near-decade lows," he said.
Weekly U.S. soybean export sales reported on Thursday were at the high end of market estimates but confirmed expectations for a slowdown in demand.
CBOT March corn futures added 0.5 percent to \\$3.85-1/4 a bushel, while March wheat rose 1.0 percent to \\$5.16 a bushel.
Despite the bounce in crude oil, corn remained pressured by bearish demand indicators for ethanol. U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed a weekly drop in corn ethanol production of 30,000 barrels per day to 948,000 bpd, the lowest output since the first week of November 2014.
Wheat has found support in a spate of import tenders triggered by a fall in prices to four-month lows at the start of the week.
U.S. wheat has seen tepid exports in recent weeks but news that Egypt could turn to the origin in order to take advantage of a \\$100 million credit line from the United States gave a boost to sentiment.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Bangladesh and South Korea have all purchased or tendered for wheat this week.
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