GRAINS-Soybeans ease for 2nd day on LatAm weather, wheat struggles

* Soy dips as wet weather in S.America boosts planting
* Corn pressured by talk of ethanol mandates, supplies
* Wheat on track for fourth week of decline on poor demand

(Adds details, quotes)
By Naveen Thukral
SINGAPORE, Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. soybeans slipped for a
second session on Friday as improved weather in parts South
America lifted planting prospects, while wheat was on track for
a fourth consecutive weekly decline on slowing demand.
Corn ticked up, after falling for three days on concerns the
United States may soon cut its corn-based ethanol requirement.

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Chicago Board of Trade January soybeans fell 0.1
percent to $13.12-1/4 a bushel by 0305 GMT, while front-month
corn gained 0.1 percent to $4.27 a bushel.
Spot-month wheat added 0.2 percent to $6.46 a bushel.
Argentine farmers had planted 21.8 percent of expected
soybean area as of Thursday, in line with a year earlier, after
recent rains improved seeding conditions, the Buenos Aires
Grains Exchange said.
Winter and the first days of spring were dry in Argentina,
delaying the start of soybean planting. Corn planting starts
earlier and is still behind the previous year with 42 percent of
the expected 3.46 million hectares planted.
"Favourable weather conditions are improving the prospects
of the South American soybean crop," said Vanessa Tan,
investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
"Furthermore, harvesting for U.S. 2013 soybeans crop is
wrapping up and the dry conditions in the U.S. Midwest will aid

active harvesting."
Mostly dry weather for the next two weeks should allow U.S.
farmers to finish harvesting the 2013 corn and soybean crops, an
agricultural meteorologist said on Thursday.
It will remain dry in nearly all areas of the Midwest until
late in the weekend when rains may cause temporary delays and
after that it will be quite dry for the rest of the month, the
Commodity Weather Group said.
Commodity funds sold a net 7,000 CBOT corn contracts on
Thursday, trade sources said. They were even in wheat and were
even in soybeans.
The corn market has faced pressure on concerns the U.S.
government might soon lower its requirement on the amount of
corn-based ethanol blended into fuel for 2014.
Documents leaked earlier this year indicated the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency might cut its corn-based ethanol
requirement to 13 billion gallons versus the 14.4 billion target
in a 2007 law.

Near-term ethanol margins have however been strong, boosting
output and supporting cash corn values.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported U.S.
ethanol production in the latest week at 927,000 barrels per
day, up 25,000 from the previous week.
The U.S. wheat market faced headwinds on competition from
cheaper supplies in Europe.
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC)
bought 240,000 tonnes of Romanian and French wheat for shipment
Dec. 1-15 in an international tender.
Egypt is the world's top wheat importer, and the purchase
was its biggest since Aug. 31.
European traders said the weakness of the euro on Wednesday
might have given an edge to French wheat. The last time GASC
bought French wheat was at a tender on Dec. 1, 2012.

Grains prices at 0305 GMT
Contract Last Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI
CBOT wheat 646.00 1.25 +0.19% +0.12% 677.16 16
CBOT corn 427.00 0.50 +0.12% -1.21% 435.14 45
CBOT soy 1312.25 -1.25 -0.10% -0.17% 1276.85 72
CBOT rice $15.83 -$0.01 -0.06% +1.93% $15.36 73
WTI crude $94.15 $0.39 +0.42% +0.29% $97.85 40
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.345 $0.005 +0.34% +0.61%
USD/AUD 0.934 -0.001 -0.16% -0.44%
Most active contracts

Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
RSI 14, exponential

(Editing by Himani Sarkar)