SINGAPORE, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Chicago soybeans and corn futures gained ground on Monday, as short-covering and strong demand for U.S. cargoes underpinned prices, with both markets recovering from several weeks of bleak performances.
Wheat prices climbed for a fourth consecutive session.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.6% at $12.20-3/4 a bushel, as of 0116 GMT, and corn gained 0.2% to $4.46-1/4 a bushel. Wheat rose 0.3% to $5.95 a bushel.
* U.S. corn futures have dropped for the last six weeks and soybeans have declined past five weeks.
* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday confirmed private sales of 297,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China, the first soybean sales announcement under its daily reporting rules since Dec. 19 and the first to the world's top buyer of the oilseed since Dec. 15.
* A weekly USDA report showed U.S. corn and wheat export sales for 2023-24 exceeded analysts' estimates in the week ended Jan. 11.
* Traders continue to monitor crop conditions in South America after analysts slashed estimates for Brazil's soybean crop due to earlier hot, dry weather. Drought fears have eased due to recent rains, though, and bumper harvests are expected elsewhere in South America such as Argentina.
* U.S. corn inventories last month swelled to their largest level since 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday, as global supplies recover from multi-year lows.
* Large speculators increased their net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week ended Jan. 16, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
* The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and increased their net short position in soybeans.
MARKET NEWS
* Asian shares followed Tokyo higher on Monday as AI hype helped the tech sector ahead of a week brimming with central bank meetings, major economic data and corporate earnings.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
Bank of Japan holds Monetary Policy Meeting (until Jan. 23)
(Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
