By Luzi Ann Javier Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat futures rose to the highest in more than a month, and corn and soybeans gained, as a weaker dollar improved the investment appeal of commodities and higher crude oil prices boosted demand for crops used to make biofuels. The dollar fell to its lowest in more than three weeks after a recovery in Chinese exports boosted confidence in the global recovery and demand for higher-yielding currencies. Fund managers and other large speculators pared their bets on falling wheat prices by 20 percent in the week ended Jan. 5, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. “Today’s wheat, corn and soybean prices are not reflecting the fundamentals,” said Eric Bailon, president of Manila-based grain importer Paritas Trading Corp. “They’re being driven by funds investing in commodities.” Wheat for March delivery gained as much as 1 percent to $5.74 a bushel, the highest price for the most-active contract since Dec. 4. It traded at $5.72 on the Chicago Board of Trade at 1:56 p.m. Singapore time. The Dollar Index, which tracks the value of the greenback against six major currencies, lost as much as 0.7 percent to 76.92, the lowest intra-day level since Dec. 17. Crude oil for February delivery rose for a second day in New York, rallying as much as 1.1 percent to $83.67 a barrel on speculation increasing demand and constraints on supply will reduce global stockpiles. “As you see oil prices go up, you normally see ethanol and grains go up a little bit,” Peter McGuire, managing director at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney said by phone today. Corn, Soybeans March-delivery corn, which can be processed to make ethanol, rose 0.2 percent to $4.2375 a bushel. Soybeans for March delivery rose as much as 1.1 percent to $10.3275 a bushel. China, the world’s biggest soybean importer, purchased a record 4.78 million tons of the oilseed overseas last month, according to the Beijing-based customs office. China will likely sustain its soybean imports “for the next month or so,” CWA’s McGuire said. “It’s so cold over there and people need more food. It’s as simple as that.” Heavy snow in China’s westernmost province of Xinjiang killed one person and forced the evacuation of more than 5,000 others, the official Xinhua News Agency reported today. More snow was forecast today for Xinjiang, with temperatures in the provincial capital of Urumqi expect to fall as low as minus-15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the China Meteorological Administration. Snow was also forecast for today and tomorrow in provinces including Shandong, Jilin, and Liaoning, the weather bureau said. Rice for March delivery rose for the first time in five sessions, rallying as much as 1 percent to $15.10 per 100 pounds, before trading at $15.065 at 1:43 p.m. Singapore time. The grain rose after International Rice Research Institute senior economist Samarendu Mohanty forecast export prices will likely remain around $600 a ton, and the U.S. Rice Producers’ Association said India may import as much as 3 million tons in the next three months. “We see the human and political imperative there to make this unavoidable,” the producers’ group said in a report published Jan. 8, referring to India’s rice imports. “It is difficult to see prices falling much, given the world situation.” To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net

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