SYDNEY, Nov 25 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose more than 0.5% on Wednesday to hit a near three-week high, as a crop quality downgrade by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) stoked concerns about global supplies.
FUNDAMENTALS
* * The most active wheat futures contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade was up 0.6% at $6.21-1/3 a bushel by 0251 GMT, after hitting $6.22-1/4 a bushel earlier in the session, its highest since Nov. 5. Wheat closed up 2.2% on Tuesday.
* The most active soybean futures were up 0.5% to $11.97-1/2 a bushel, after firming 0.5% on Tuesday. Soybeans hit a June 2016 high of $12.00 a bushel on Monday.
* The most active corn futures were up 0.5% to $4.34-1/2 a bushel, after closing down 0.2% in the previous session.
* The USDA late on Monday rated 43% of the U.S. winter wheat crop in good to excellent condition, down from 46% a week earlier and bucking analyst expectations for an improvement.
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar nursed losses as progress in developing a novel coronavirus vaccine and expectations for a fiscal boost from a new U.S. government triggered a shift of funds from the greenback to riskier assets.
* U.S. oil edged lower, after an industry report showed crude stockpiles in the United States rose against expectations, tempering a rally driven by news that another vaccine against COVID-19 had proved effective in trials.
* Asian stocks made early gains, following a world rally overnight that saw the Dow Jones benchmark crack 30,000 for the first time as investors cheered a dramatically improved global outlook.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
