CANBERRA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose on Wednesday, as prices rebounded from a two-week low, though concerns about a new COVID-19 variant and expectations of bumper global stocks capped gains.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most active wheat futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were up 0.6% at $7.92-1/4 a bushel by 0143 GMT, after closing down 4.2% on Tuesday when prices hit a Nov. 10 low of $7.82-1/2 a bushel.
* The most active soybean futures were up 0.7% at $12.25-1/4 a bushel, after ending down 2% on Tuesday when prices hit a Nov. 11 low of $12.14 a bushel.
* The most active corn futures were up 0.4% at $5.69-1/2 a bushel, having closed down 2.3% in the previous session.
* Wheat markets rallied to nine-year highs this month in Chicago as the possibility of more Russian export restrictions and the risk of rain damage to Australia's crop fanned fears of tight milling wheat supplies.
* Global supply worries have eased in recent days amid signs of a stabilizing U.S. crop, and Australia's chief commodity forecaster, ABARES, revised its official estimate for the 2021/22 crop to a record 34.4 million tonnes.
MARKET NEWS
* The safe-haven yen held steady on Wednesday, while the risk-sensitive Australian dollar languished near a one-year low after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled a faster taper of stimulus despite the risks around the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
* Oil prices tumbled on Tuesday after Moderna's chief cast doubt on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against the Omicron coronavirus variant, spooking financial markets and heightening worries about oil demand.
* Global stock benchmarks and oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday after drugmaker Moderna warned that existing vaccines are unlikely to be as effective against the new coronavirus variant, spurring investors to pile into safe-haven assets such as government bonds and the yen.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
