ı Corn up 1 pct on f'cast of more wet weather
ı Planting delays may force farmers to switch to soy
U.S. wheat futures gained around half a percent on Wednesday, rising for a fourth straight session as adverse
weather threatened to curb supplies from top exporters the United States, Canada and Europe.
Corn rose more than 1 percent on delays to plantings in the world's biggest exporter, the United States, amid tight
old-crop stocks, while soybeans were up 0.4 percent, lifted by firm grains.
" Farmers might be forced to switch to soybeans if corn plantings continue to get delayed, which will be bearish
for soy and bullish for corn," said Ker Chung Yang, an analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "The U.S. wheat crop
condition is slightly better but it is still bad. We have a similar situation in China, Europe and Canada."
Chicago Board of Trade wheat for May rose 0.5 percent to $7.90 a bushel by 0246 GMT and May corn added 1
percent to $7.56-3/4 a bushel. Soybeans for May delivery rose 0.5 percent to 13.48-1/2 a bushel.
Wheat has been the clear leader this week, rising 6 percent so far, as weather concerns in top suppliers drove
prices higher.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday confirmed hard red winter wheat crop's slow deterioration due to
dry weather, rating 38 percent of winter wheat in poor to very poor shape by versus 36 percent in that category a
week earlier.
The USDA also pegged spring wheat seedings at just 5 percent, lagging the average pace of 12 percent, slowed by
overly wet conditions and flooding in the northern U.S. Plains, where the spring crop is grown.
A dry spell in Britain, Germany and France has raised concern that yield potential for EU wheat could be
diminished, while wheat seeding in western Canada may be delayed up to three weeks due to waterlogged soils.
As a result, European milling wheat futures extended gains on Tuesday, with benchmark new-crop prices hitting a
near two-month high as the market remained nervous about dry weather.
Corn futures remained supported by historically tight supplies and cooler-than-normal weather in the Midwest
threatened to further delay spring sowing.
The U.S. Midwest will be cool and wet for at least the next 10 days, preventing farmers from planting corn
through most of April, a forecaster said.
Still, Russia may export 5 million to 10 million tonnes of grain in the 2011/12 season to appease farmers
grappling with lower domestic prices and higher production costs ahead of elections, an analyst said.
CBOT soybean futures rose on Wednesday, tracking gains in corn and wheat. But gains were capped by a
slowdown in Chinese purchases.
Chinese soybean importers may seek to cancel or delay more soybean shipments as the government sells its
soybean stocks cheaply, which could pressure global prices, Hamburg-based oilseeds analysts Oil World said.
China confirmed cancellation of six to eight soybean shipments and delays to 20 others on Tuesday partly because
of the Beijing government's decision to sell state soybean stocks in the domestic market at low prices to combat
inflation.
Commodity funds were net buyers of an estimated 8,000 contracts of Chicago Board of Trade corn futures on
Tuesday. They were net buyers of an estimated 4,000 wheat and 3,000 soybean contracts.