Grains, Soybeans Advance

Grain and soybean futures prices were broadly higher in active trading Thursday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Prices were boosted by several factors, analysts said.

Rain was forecast for the eastern half of the Corn Belt, which will further delay the harvest, and farmers have been reluctant to sell the crops they’ve been harvesting, which has reduced selling pressure.

Wheat prices were supported by the Agriculture Department’s announcement that another 500,000 tons of wheat has been made available to Egypt under the export bonus program, said Dale Gustafson, a grain analyst with Drexel Burnham Lambert.

The Census Department also reported that soybean oil inventories were at about 640 million pounds, about 60 million pounds less than expected.

Coffee prices continued to soar on the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange in New York. Coffee settled 3.91 cents to 4 cents higher with the contract for delivery in December at 161.60 cents a pound.

Cattle prices were mixed and live hogs and frozen pork bellies were lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.