By Colin Packham
SYDNEY, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures fell on Friday,
edging lower as traders squared positions ahead of a U.S.
Department of Agriculture monthly supply and demand report later
in the day.
Corn has come under pressure as favorable weather forecasts
buoyed expectations of rapid planting by U.S. farmers, partly
reversing a steep price climb last week due to the slow pace of
planting.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Chicago Board Of Trade July corn fell 0.12 percent
to $6.48 a bushel, having firmed 2.49 percent on Thursday.
* Corn is on course to finish the week down more than 2
percent after the grain jumped nearly 7 percent last week.
* July wheat fell 0.1 percent to $7.22-3/4 a bushel,
having closed up 2.48 percent on Thursday.
* Wheat is poised to finish the week just 0.2 percent higher
as concerns over the condition of the U.S. winter wheat crop
offset pressure from falling corn prices.
* July soybeans rose 0.14 percent to $14.10-3/4 a
bushel, having gained 1.3 percent in the previous session.
* Soybeans are on course to finish the week up 1.7 percent,
the biggest weekly climb in nearly a month.
* The supply of U.S. corn left at the end of the crop year
in 2014 is forecast to be up 150 percent from this year's
16-year low as farmers plant the largest area to corn since the
1930s, analysts said ahead of the government's first forecast
for 2014 stocks.
* Analysts expect the USDA report on Friday to show that
2013 U.S. winter wheat production will fall 9 percent from a
year ago, in its first official estimate of the 2013 crop.
* USDA said early Thursday that old-crop soybean export
sales totaled 193,800 tonnes in the latest reporting week,
topping market forecasts for zero to 100,000 tonnes.
* The second of Brazil's two corn crops is developing well
and could top last year's 39 million tonnes, likely bringing the
country's overall corn production in the 2012/13 crop year to a
second straight annual record.
* Brazil's record 2012/13 soy crop will turn out slightly
smaller than the government crop supply agency Conab forecast in
April, but the agency sees exports of the commodity holding firm
at a record 36.78 million tonnes.
MARKET NEWS
* The dollar hit a fresh four-year high versus the yen on
Friday, staying firm after data the previous day pointed to a
further improvement in the U.S. labour market and eased concerns
of an abrupt economic slowdown.
* Brent crude edged up in volatile trade on Thursday, and
U.S. crude settled slightly down, as investors weighed Middle
East tensions against weak demand and high inventories.
* The S&P 500 broke a five-day streak of record closing
highs on Thursday, ending a fairly volatile session lower as the
market's recent momentum faded and Apple's shares declined.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany Trade balance
0800 Italy Industrial output
1330 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks
1600 U.S. Department of Agriculture supply-demand report
1800 U.S. Federal budget
G7 Finance ministers and central bank governors'
meeting (to May 11)
Grains prices at 0035 GMT
Contract Last Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI
CBOT wheat 722.75 -0.75 -0.10% +2.37% 705.78 59
CBOT corn 648.00 -0.75 -0.12% +2.37% 631.94 67
CBOT soy 1410.75 2.00 +0.14% +1.44% 1363.19 71
CBOT rice $15.34 $0.00 +0.00% -0.36% $15.55 60
WTI crude $96.07 -$0.32 -0.33% -0.57% $92.90 60
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.303 -$0.001 -0.07% -0.90%
USD/AUD 1.007 -0.002 -0.25% -0.99%
Most active contracts
Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
RSI 14, exponential
(Editing by Richard Pullin)
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