US wheat, soybean rise; corn loses on profit-taking

* Wheat extends gains on exports, USDA, frigid crop weather

 * Soybean climbs on dry-hit Argentina's soy crop concerns

 * Corn eases on profit-taking; in long-term seen bullish

 By Cho Mee-young

 SEOUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat prices rose slightly on
Tuesday, extending previous session's gains on news the world's
top buyer Egypt had returned to the market and expectations that
the USDA would trim its estimate for wheat ending stocks.	

 Forecasts for more frigid crop weather in the United States
also supported wheat prices. 	

 "Views of many market participants who are waiting for
USDA's supply-demand data on Wednesday are quite bullish about
the market," said Kazuhiko Saito, chief commodities analyst at
Fujitomi Co Ltd in Tokyo.	

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture is due to release its
monthly supply-demand report on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by
Reuters expected USDA to lower its forecasts of 2010/11 U.S. and
world ending stocks for wheat, corn and soybeans.
 	

 U.S. Plains and the Midwest are likely to experience
freezing cold weather this week, which will add stress to the
dormant wheat crop and continue to hamper grains transportation,
a forecaster said.	

 Egypt has said wheat shipments had been arriving with no
delays at ports. The main state wheat buyer bought 170,000
tonnes of soft wheat on Saturday, returning to global markets at
a time of uprising, after an absence of nearly a month, though
the country does not face grain shortages, trade and shipping
sources had said.  	

 "While supplies are not clear due to political turmoil in
North Africa and drought in the Middle East, wheat demand in
those regions are firm," Leo Baek, analyst at KEB Futures in
Seoul, said.	

 EYES ON U.S. REPORT	

 Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat for March delivery 
climbed 0.32 percent to $8.61-1/2 per bushel by 0422 GMT after
it settled up 5 cents at $8.58-3/4 per bushel on Monday.	

 Soybeans for March delivery rose 0.19 percent to
$14.27-1/4 per bushel, reversing Monday's 9-cent loss at
$14.24-1/2 a bushel.	

 Corn for March delivery declined 0.11 percent to $6.74
per bushel, extending losses as the contract ended down 3-3/4
cents at $6.74-3/4 a bushel on Monday, after reaching $6.82-1/2,
the highest spot corn price since July 2008.	

 "While corn contracts are easing on shot-term profit-taking,
corn and soybean prices are expected to rally in a longer term
on expectation for strong Chinese demand amid expected tight
supplies," Baek at KEB Futures said.	

 The state of global crops, pummeled by rains and drought
from Australia to Russia, will headline a U.S. government report
this week at a time when surging grain prices have stoked global
food inflation. U.S. corn ending stocks are already forecast as
the tightest in 15 years.	

 Rains over the last day in Argentina replenished soils and
rejuvenated soy crops in farming areas where dryness had
lingered, an agricultural meteorologist said Monday. Argentina
is the world's No. 3 supplier of soybeans and the top supplier
of soyoil and soymeal. 	
 	

 Traders will be looking to see if the USDA revises down its
crop estimates for Argentina, a top exporter of corn and soy
that had been suffering from dry weather until recently.	

 Crude oil prices edged down on Tuesday as transit through
the Suez Canal remained unaffected by the political turmoil in
Egypt, while expectations of a build-up in U.S. crude stocks
weighed.	

 U.S. March crude slipped 24 cents to $87.24 a barrel
at 0354 GMT, and ICE Brent eased 8 cents to $99.17 a
barrel. 	

 	
 Grains prices at 0425 GMT	
 Contract        Last    Change  Pct chg  Two-day chg MA 30  
RSI	
 CBOT wheat     861.75     3.00  +0.35%    +0.94%     812.99  64	
 CBOT corn      674.25    -0.50  -0.07%    +1.77%     638.76  63	
 CBOT soy      1427.25     2.75  +0.19%    -0.57%    1400.14  58	
 CBOT rice      $15.68    $0.14  +0.87%    -0.76%     $14.65  58	
 WTI crude      $87.30   -$0.18  -0.21%    -2.04%     $89.46  38	
 Currencies	
 Euro/dlr       $1.361   $0.003  +0.20%    +0.42%	
 USD/AUD         1.014    0.001  +0.13%    +0.26%	
 Most active contracts	
 Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel.	
 Rice: USD per hundredweight	
 RSI 14, exponential	

 	
 (Editing by Ramthan Hussain)	

(Source: http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFTOE71702120110208)