Special Report: Global Financial Crisis    

    CHICAGO, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Grain futures in Chicago Board of Trade were mixed on Thursday, due to technical short-covering and sentiments on soy export sale cancel.

    Corn future for March delivery gained 4 cents, finished at 3.535 U.S. dollars a bushel. March soybean dropped 3 cents to 8.845 dollars per bushel and March wheat was up 8.75 cents, settled on 5.195 dollars per bushel.

    Analysts indicated corn and wheat were apparently oversold in the past several trading days. Short-covering helped the two futures climbed and ended higher. March corn has lost 21.5 cents and wheat has been down 54.25 cents since Feb. 10.

    A lower U.S. dollar index and higher crude oil futures also provided bullish support to corn and wheat.

    Argentine farmers threatened to start another strike, giving some support to soy futures, but market sentiment that China may cancel recent U.S. soy export sales amid overbooking weighed on soy.

    Improved Argentine soy crop weather conditions were still bearish to soy futures.