SYDNEY, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. new-crop corn futures fell
more than 1 percent on Tuesday after U.S. farmers surpassed
market expectations by planting a record amount of the crop last
week.
    
    FUNDAMENTALS  
    * Chicago Board of Trade December corn, the most
actively traded contract, fell 1.06 percent to $5.14-1/2 a
bushel, having gained 0.14 percent in the previous session.
    * Front-month corn dropped 0.62 percent to $6.45-1/2 a
bushel, after closing down 0.5 percent on Monday.
    * July soybeans declined 0.2 percent to $16.61-1/2 a
bushel, having firmed 1.1 percent on Monday.
    * July wheat eased 0.8 percent to $7.79-3/4 a bushel.
	

		

			
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It ended Monday up 0.29 percent. 
    * U.S. farmers took advantage of mostly clear skies in the
last week to plant corn at a blistering pace, pushing progress
to 71 percent, from 28 percent a week earlier, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture said Monday in a weekly report.
 
    * Analysts expected corn seeding to be 63 percent complete.
    * The 43-percentage point increase indicates that farmers in
the world's biggest corn producer seeded a single-week U.S.
record of 41.8 million acres as of Sunday, topping 34.1 million
acres in June 1992.
    * More rain was expected in the U.S. Midwest this week,
which would delay the tail end of corn planting, although some
analysts were viewing the forecast as bearish for prices as it
would benefit the crop already in the ground.
    * The U.S. spring wheat crop, most of which is grown in the
northern Plains, was 67 percent planted by Sunday, up from 43
percent a week earlier, but behind the five-year average of 76
percent.
    * Soybeans supported by tight stocks, analysts said.
             
    MARKET NEWS  
    * The euro got off to an unusually quiet start in Asia on
Monday.  
    * Oil edged lower in volatile trading on Friday, posting a
second consecutive weekly loss.  
	

		

			
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    * A rally in U.S. stocks fizzled, leaving major indexes with
modest gains on Friday.  
    
     DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 
0600  Germany  Producer prices                  
1145  U.S.     ICSC weekly chain store sales    
1255  U.S.     Redbook weekly retail sales  
2030  U.S.     API weekly crude stocks          
    
  Grains prices at  0015 GMT
  Contract        Last    Change  Pct chg  Two-day chg MA 30   RSI 
  CBOT wheat     679.75    -5.50  -0.80%    -0.51%     704.73   37
  CBOT corn      645.50    -4.00  -0.62%    -1.11%     639.41   37
  CBOT soy      1461.50    -3.00  -0.20%    +0.90%    1387.72   51
  CBOT rice      $15.18    $0.00  +0.00%    -0.39%     $15.40   46
  WTI crude      $96.57   -$0.14  -0.14%    +0.57%     $93.10   63
  Currencies                                                
  Euro/dlr       $1.288   $0.000  +0.01%    +0.35%
  USD/AUD         0.980    0.000  -0.05%    +0.80%
  Most active contracts
  Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
  RSI 14, exponential
 
 (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Joseph Radford)