OREANDA-NEWS. US wheat futures rose 2 percent on Monday, bouncing off the previous session's contract lows on bargain-hunting and short-covering ahead of a monthly U.S. government crop report.

Soybeans and corn also climbed in largely technical buying ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's supply/demand report due on Tuesday.

At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 11:42 a.m. CDT (1642 GMT), May wheat was up 11 cents at \$4.93-1/2 per bushel. May soybeans were up 13-1/4 cents at \$9.98-1/4 a bushel and May corn was up 3-3/4 cents at \$3.89-3/4 a bushel.

Wheat led the gains, although ample world wheat supplies hung over the market, limiting rallies. U.S. wheat has struggled to compete for export business with the dollar hovering near an 11-1/2-year high.

Nonetheless, commodity funds hold a sizable net short position in CBOT wheat, leaving the market open to bouts of short-covering.

"The USDA report is out soon and you have funds short in wheat. They don't want to be caught short in wheat," said Ole Houe, analyst at Sydney-based brokerage IKON Commodities.

Soybeans drew support from expectations that USDA might trim its forecast of U.S. 2014-15 soybean ending stocks from its February figure of 385 million tonnes. The average estimate among analysts surveyed by Reuters was 376 million.

Analysts were also watching for any potential interruptions to grain movement in Brazil after a truckers' strike ended earlier this month, pending talks on Tuesday with the Brazilian government.

"Analysts also have their eye on upcoming news from South America. Tomorrow there will be 'discussions' between Brazilian government officials and truckers about the cost of diesel fuel, road tariffs, and other working conditions. (The Brazilian government supply agency) CONAB will also release their production estimates for Brazilian beans and corn," Helen Pound, a vice president with Wedbush Futures, wrote in a note to clients.

Rainfall in Brazil and flooding in some of Argentina's soy-growing areas were also an underlying concern. In Brazil, rains have slowed the planting of second-crop corn.