SYDNEY, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures fell for a
second session on Thursday as forecasts for dry weather raised
expectations that farmers would be able to accelerate planting
after the slowest start to corn seeding in 29 years.
             
    FUNDAMENTALS  
    * Chicago Board Of Trade July corn fell 0.39 percent
to $6.30-1/2 a bushel, having closed down 1.1 percent in the
previous session.
    * July soybeans fell 0.22 percent to $13.87-3/4 a
bushel, having firmed 0.62 percent on Wednesday.
    * July wheat fell 0.35 percent to $7.03-1/2 a bushel,
having closed down 0.42 percent on Wednesday. 
    * Corn under pressure as forecasts for dry weather in the
	

		

			
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U.S. Midwest bolstered hopes that growers will be able to push
planting back on schedule after damp field conditions caused the
slowest start to corn seeding in 29 years.
    * Better corn planting weather is expected in the U.S.
Midwest over the next week to 10 days following wet weather that
has hampered the seeding pace, an agricultural meteorologist
said on Wednesday. 
    * Traders also noted positioning ahead of the USDA's monthly
report on global supply and demand, which will be released on
Friday.
    * U.S. corn supplies at the end of the 2013/14 crop year
were forecast at a nine-year high due to the biggest plantings
since the 1930s, analysts said ahead of the government's first
forecast for new-crop stocks. 
    * Paraguayan and Brazilian soybeans are set to be shipped to
the United States, where stocks of the oilseed are unusually
tight due to last year's drought in the U.S. Midwest, industry
sources familiar with the trades told Reuters on Wednesday.
 
         
    MARKET NEWS  
    * The euro held near a one-week high against the dollar and
two-month peaks on its Australian counterpart in early Asian
trade on Thursday, having risen broadly after upbeat German
factory activity data bolstered sentiment.  
	

		

			
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    * The spread between Brent and U.S. crude oil futures
narrowed sharply in the last half hour of trade on Wednesday
fueled by expectations for increased capacity to funnel rising
U.S. crude oil production out of benchmark-supply-point Cushing.
  
    * The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for a fifth day on
Wednesday in a broad rally that keeps surprising investors with
its longevity and resilience.  
    
    DATA/GMT 
0130  China     CPI yy                 Apr         
0130  China     PPI yy                 Apr         
1100  Britain   BOE bank rate          May         
1230  U.S.      Jobless claims         Weekly      
1430  U.S.      EIA natural gas stocks Weekly      
                 2350  Japan     Bank lending yy        Apr     
  

  Grains prices at  0053 GMT
  Contract        Last    Change  Pct chg  Two-day chg MA 30   RSI 
  CBOT wheat     703.50    -2.50  -0.35%    -0.78%     704.03   45
  CBOT corn      630.50    -2.50  -0.39%    -1.48%     632.20   51
  CBOT soy      1387.75    -3.00  -0.22%    +0.40%    1360.53   65
  CBOT rice      $15.23    $0.00  +0.00%    -1.81%     $15.55   49
  WTI crude      $96.58   -$0.04  -0.04%    +1.00%     $92.94   65
  Currencies                                                
  Euro/dlr       $1.316   $0.001  +0.06%    +0.63%
  USD/AUD         1.019    0.002  +0.17%    +0.04%
  Most active contracts
  Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
  RSI 14, exponential
 
 (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Richard Pullin)