GRAINS-Corn ends higher, led by new-crop contracts on US weather

* Forecast for hot weather lifts new-crop corn
* Gains in nearby corn capped by farmer selling
* Soybeans mixed as long July/short November spread unwinds
* Wheat firm on rain delays but world supplies cap gains

(Recasts, adds closing prices, analyst comments)
By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures rose on
Tuesday, led by deferred contracts on technical buying and
forecasts for potentially stressful hot weather in late June,
traders said.
"The thought of any high-pressure ridge - the market is very
sensitive to that right now, after what happened last year,"

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said Sterling Smith, futures specialist with Citigroup in
Chicago, alluding to the historic Midwest drought that slashed
corn yields in 2012.
Soybeans ended mixed, with back months gaining against the
nearby July contract, and wheat firmed on bargain-buying
following recent declines.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, July corn settled up
4-3/4 cents at $6.73-1/4 per bushel and new-crop December
rose 12 cents at $5.50-1/2, its highest settlement since June 7.
July soybeans fell 1-3/4 cents at $15.10-3/4 a bushel
while new-crop November rose 4-1/4 cents at $12.89-3/4.
July wheat settled up 7 cents at $6.87-1/2 a bushel.
Corn firmed in early moves as the spot July contract
climbed to $6.77-1/4 per bushel, filling a gap in its chart
dating to March 28. On that day, corn prices crashed after the
USDA reported higher-than-expected U.S. quarterly stocks.

At that point, traders began taking profits and farmers sold
some of their reserves, sending the July briefly into negative
territory.
"At these high prices, we did see a pickup in cash movement.
It was just enough to bend us back a bit," said Don Roose,
president of U.S. Commodities in West Des Moines, Iowa.
New-crop December corn got a boost from updated midday
weather forecasts showing hot weather ahead of the Fourth of
July holiday. However, some analysts said late-planted crops
stunted by cool, wet weather would benefit from the heat.
"If you talk to the guys in the country, what they need is
some heat and sunshine. The corn has got plenty of water now,
and if we could get the sun and warmth, the crops will be
looking a lot better," said Roy Huckabay with the Linn Group, a
Chicago brokerage.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said 92 percent of the
corn crop had emerged by Sunday, lagging the five-year average
of 97 percent.

SOYBEANS END MIXED
As with corn, strength in soybeans also shifted to the back
months as traders took profits on long July/short November
spreads and rolled long positions forward ahead of July options
expiration on Friday.
Private exporters reported sales of 240,000 tonnes of U.S.
soybeans to China for delivery in 2013/14, the USDA said, adding
support to new-crop contracts.
Nearby July soybeans traded higher for most of the session
but turned lower toward the closing bell.
Earlier, some Iowa soy processors raised their cash bids for
soybeans by 15 cents to 20 cents per bushel. The moves came a
day after the National Oilseed Processors Association reported
the U.S. soybean crush for May at 122.6 million bushels, up from
120.1 million bushels in April, underscoring strong soybean
usage despite dwindling supplies.

WHEAT UP ON BARGAIN BUYING
Wheat firmed on short-covering and bargain buying one day
after CBOT July wheat fell to a near one-month low. But rising
world supplies and the start of harvesting in the Northern
Hemisphere kept a lid on gains.
The USDA said the U.S. winter wheat harvest was 11 percent
complete by Sunday, behind the five-year average of 25 percent.
Rains slowed fieldwork over the weekend.
"There is enough uncertainty out there to keep the market
bears cautious," said Shawn McCambridge, grains analyst with
Jefferies Bache in Chicago.
"But I don't see a lot of upside potential because of the
world balance sheet," he added. "We are starting to see new-crop
supplies work into the market. Within the next couple weeks
these pipelines will be replenished."

Prices at 2:11 p.m. CDT (1911 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 673.25 4.75 0.7% -3.6%
CBOT soy 1510.75 -1.75 -0.1% 6.5%
CBOT meal 451.80 2.70 0.6% 7.4%
CBOT soyoil 48.81 -0.03 -0.1% -0.7%
CBOT wheat 687.50 7.00 1.0% -11.6%
CBOT rice 1628.50 -4.00 -0.3% 9.6%
EU wheat 196.50 0.75 0.4% -21.5%

US crude 98.45 0.68 0.7% 7.2%
Dow Jones 15,323 143 0.9% 16.9%
Gold 1366.81 -17.54 -1.3% -18.4%
Euro/dollar 1.3403 0.0036 0.3% 1.6%

Dollar Index 80.6020 -0.1850 -0.2% 1.0%
Baltic Freight 962 37 4.0% 37.6%

(Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Colin Packham
in Sydney; Editing by Richard Pullin, Anthony Barker, Peter
Galloway and Gunna Dickson)