SYDNEY  - U.S. wheat futures rose more than 0.5 percent on Thursday, recouping half of their losses from the previous session, as traders squared short positions.

FUNDAMENTALS 

The most active wheat futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were up 0.7 percent at $4.50-1/4 a bushel by 0145 GMT. Wheat touched a 13-month low on Monday, but rebounded nearly 6 percent the following day.

The most active soybean futures were up 0.4 percent to $9.04-1/2 a bushel, having firmed 0.4 percent on Wednesday.

The most active corn futures were up 0.3 percent to $3.67-3/4 a bushel, having gained 0.2 percent in the previous session.

Traders have built huge short positions in wheat in recent months amid expectations of bumper global supplies.

Hopes of an upturn in U.S. wheat exports have been tempered by competition from other export zones such as western Europe and the Black Sea region.

Black Sea wheat exporters are boosting sales to Asia with last year's crop, a surprise move that is curbing demand for U.S. grain, traders said.

U.S. farmers are expected to plant 91.475 million acres of corn in 2019 and 84.263 million acres of soybeans, according to an annual survey conducted by commodity brokerage and analytical firm Allendale Inc.        

MARKET NEWS 

The dollar edged back from a nine-day low early on Thursday, as a big rally by the pound made on Brexit relief tapered off and gave the greenback some reprieve. 

Oil prices nudged higher on Thursday to sit just off a four-month high reached in the previous session as investors focused on global production cuts and supply disruptions in Venezuela. 

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday, led by gains in healthcare shares, and Boeing edged upward even as the United States joined other nations in grounding the company's 737 MAX jets.            

(Reporting by Colin Packham; editing by Richard Pullin)

© Reuters News 2019