OREANDA-NEWS. February 18, 2015. US soybeans climbed to a one-month peak on Tuesday, lifted by a 2 percent spike in soymeal futures and data showing near-record domestic crushings of the beans in January, traders said.

Wheat futures were mixed, with some contracts turning lower after earlier hitting three-week highs on a short-covering bounce. Corn was narrowly higher in thin volume on the first trading day of the week following Monday's US Presidents Day holiday.

Soymeal futures posted the largest gains at the Chicago Board of Trade, with active soymeal-soyoil spreading also weighing on soyoil

as investors positioned ahead of the National Oilseed Processors Association's monthly release.

The NOPA data, released at 11 a.m. CST (1700 GMT), showed the US soybean crush at 162.675 million bushels in January, near the average analyst estimate and the biggest ever for the month.

CBOT March soybeans were up 8 cents to \\$9.98-1/2 per bushel as of 11:45 a.m., after earlier rising to \\$9.99-3/4 - one tick below the psychological threshold of \\$10. Soy prices remained anchored by record-large crops in South America, where farmers were in the early phases of harvest.

CBOT March wheat was up 2 cents at \\$5.35 per bushel after earlier trading as high as \\$5.48 while CBOT March corn was flat at \\$3.87-1/2.

Wheat was bolstered by worries that bitter cold conditions could hamper portions of the dormant crop not protected by snowcover in the southern US Midwest.

"For the next two or three mornings, through Friday, there is going to be threats of zero to -10 (F) below readings in those winter wheat areas," said meteorologist Dan Hicks of Freese-Notis Weather in Iowa.

However, US grain remained uncompetitive in many global export markets, with cheaper wheat and corn shipped out of the Black Sea and South America stealing away some of the United States' market share.

Russia may export more than 2 million tonnes of wheat between February and June as traders have to fulfill previously agreed contracts despite recently imposed export curbs, SovEcon agriculture analysts said.