* Rains to stall harvest through Wednesday, frost possible
* Soybeans rise from 20-month low, corn up from 37-month low
(Rewrites; adds quotes, updates prices; changes dateline, pvs
PARIS/SINGAPORE, changes byline)
By Karl Plume
CHICAGO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures rebounded
from a 20-month low on Monday and corn rose slightly from a
37-month low as rain was expected to stall the Midwest harvest
this week followed by frigid weather which could damage crops in
some areas.
Prices for both commodities, however, remain anchored by
expectations for massive U.S. crops this year. U.S. Department
of Agriculture crop reports are not available due to the partial
government shutdown but investors are still receiving a steady
stream of private reports suggesting corn and soy yields are as
large or larger than anticipated.
"The rains in the west today and tomorrow are heading east
Tuesday and Wednesday. That will provide a shortened week for
harvest," said Rich Nelson, chief strategist with Allendale Inc.
"Some people are also concerned about the frost expected to
hit much of the northern third of the Corn Belt on Friday and
Saturday," he said.
Storms are expected to bring moderate rainfall to 50 percent
of the Corn Belt through midweek followed by a drop in
temperatures, forecasters said.
Most corn and soybean plants are already mature enough that
frost would do little damage, but late-developing crops could
experience some yield or quality losses.
Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans rose 8-1/4
cents, or 0.7 percent, to $12.75 per bushel by 11:05 a.m. CDT
(1605 GMT) after earlier sinking as low as $12.61-3/4, the
lowest spot price since February 2012.
December corn added 2 cents to $4.35-1/4 a bushel
after earlier hitting a low of $4.32, the lowest spot price
since September 2010.
The USDA will not provide an update on harvest progress for
a second consecutive week due to the government shutdown.
Analysts estimated that the U.S. corn harvest was about 30
percent complete as of Sunday and the soybean harvest was 45
percent complete.
U.S. wheat futures eased slightly in light trading in a
profit-taking setback from last week's 3-1/2 month peaks.
Wheat prices remained underpinned by strong export demand
and concerns about reduced crops and wheat quality in South
America and the Black Sea region.
CBOT December wheat shed 1-1/4 cents to $6.91 a
bushel.
Prices at 11:20 a.m. CDT (1620 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 435.00 1.75 0.4% -37.7%
CBOT soy 1274.00 7.25 0.6% -10.2%
CBOT meal 415.00 -7.00 -1.7% -1.3%
CBOT soyoil 40.12 0.01 0.0% -18.4%
CBOT wheat 692.25 0.00 0.0% -11.0%
CBOT rice 1510.00 -1.50 -0.1% 1.6%
EU wheat 199.00 -0.25 -0.1% -20.5%
US crude 102.51 0.49 0.5% 11.6%
Dow Jones 15,211 -26 -0.2% 16.1%
Gold 1279.70 7.08 0.6% -23.6%
Euro/dollar 1.3580 0.0039 0.3% 2.9%
Dollar Index 80.2050 -0.1570 -0.2% 0.5%
(Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen
Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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