Wednesday, April 27, 2011
U.S. wheat at two-week low; soybeans turn higher
* Wheat at two-week low on forecast for Kansas rains
* Soybeans turn higher on firm crude, weak dollar
* Corn weak but declines limited by planting delays
* Ag commodities pare losses after Fed announcement
* Traders await Bernanke press conference (Updates prices, market activity throughout, notes soy turn higher)
By Mark Weinraub
CHICAGO, April 27 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures dropped 3.4 percent to a two-week low on Wednesday due to forecasts for much-needed rain in Kansas, where the wheat crop has been under drought-like conditions.
"The perception of weather certainly has improved a bit for wheat," said Dan Kuechenmeister, manager of the commodities department at RBC Dain Rauscher. "There is a little bit better chance of rain, maybe some cooler temperatures, which is certainly welcome news."
Corn futures also were lower, but soybean prices turned higher in the afternoon on support from a firm crude oil market and a weakening dollar. Corn's losses were kept in check by rainy weather in the U.S. Midwest that was delaying planting.
Agricultural commodities pared losses after the Federal Reserve signaled it was no rush to scale back extensive support for the U.S. economy. The Fed added that the run-up in commodity prices should be fleeting.
Market participants were still waiting for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's first-ever news conference following the regular two-day policy meeting.
At 12:48 p.m. CDT (1748 GMT), CBOT May soft red winter wheat was down 29-1/4 cents at $7.82 a bushel. Wheat prices have fallen 5.3 percent during the past two days.
CBOT May soybeans were up 4-1/4 cents at $13.87 a bushel. CBOT May corn was down 6 cents at $7.60-1/4 a bushel.
RAIN BOOSTS CROP PROSPECTS IN KANSAS
Some rainstorms hit southern areas of Kansas on Tuesday night, and there were calls for more precipitation in drought-stressed areas of the U.S. Plains during the next few days, said Mike Palmerino, forecaster for Telvent DTN.
"It is not going to cure the problem ... but it will certainly help," Palmerino said. "There is reason to be a little more optimistic here that we may see a little improvement in the overall crop conditions."
In the U.S. Midwest, more rain was seen during the next 10 days, providing little opportunity for farmers to make progress on corn planting, which is virtually stalled in many key production areas.
The planting delays have dashed the market's hopes of an early harvest giving some relief to the tight domestic stocks situation, providing a source of strength for old-crop corn futures this week as wheat and soybeans have fallen sharply.
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