Wheat and soybeans up 2-4 cents, corn steady-up 1 cent

Following are U.S. expectations for the resumption of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) on Monday.

NOTE: Traders await the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply/demand report due on Thursday.

WHEAT – Up 2 to 4 cents per bushel

* Wheat futures firm on follow-through buying after the benchmark CBOT May contract WK24 hit a one-month high on Friday. Fears of rising tension between Russia and Ukraine lent support last week, along with uncertainty about weather in the Northern Hemisphere. Traders await fresh weekly U.S. crop condition ratings due later on Monday from the USDA.

* India is expected to produce 105 million metric tons of wheat this year, a flour millers’ body said, 6.25% lower than a government estimate.

* Ahead of the USDA’s monthly supply/demand report on Thursday, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to raise its forecast of U.S. 2023/24 wheat ending stocks.

* CBOT May soft red winter wheat WK24 last traded up 2 cents at $5.69-1/4 per bushel. K.C. May hard red winter wheat KWK24 was last up 10 cents at $5.92-1/4 a bushel and MGEX May spring wheat MWEK24 was last up 6-3/4 cents at $6.54-3/4.

CORN – Steady to up 1 cent per bushel

* Corn futures seen steady to higher in subdued trade, supported by a firm tone in wheat and prospects for short-covering by funds. But outlooks for generally favorable U.S. planting weather hang over the market, capping rallies.

* The USDA is scheduled to release updated U.S. corn planting progress figures later on Monday. The crop was 2% planted as of March 31.

* Ahead of the USDA’s monthly supply/demand report on Thursday, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the government to lower its forecast of U.S. 2023/24 corn ending stocks.

* CBOT May corn CK24 last traded up 1/2 cent at $4.34-3/4 per bushel.

SOYBEANS – Up 2 to 4 cents per bushel

* Soybeans seen firm in range-bound trade, with the May contract SK24 staying inside of Friday’s trading range in early moves.

* Brazil’s soybean harvest reached 78% of the planted area as of last Thursday, agribusiness consultancy AgRural said, up 4 percentage points from the previous week but down from 82% a year ago.

* CBOT May soybeans SK24 last traded up 3-3/4 cents at $11.88-3/4 per bushel.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen)