GRAINS-U.S. corn off on talk of ethanol law change; soy firm

* CBOT corn down 1.1 percent, nears key $4.35/bushel mark
* Soybeans remain positive but well off highs
* Wheat dips after Egypt scuttles tender

(Recasts, updates with U.S. trading, adds new analyst quote,
changes byline; pvs PARIS/SYDNEY)
By Mark Weinraub
CHICAGO, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade corn
futures fell to a nearly three-year low on Thursday, pressured
by talk that the U.S. government will cut its requirement for
ethanol usage, traders said.
U.S. wheat futures also fell as Egypt, the world's top buyer
of the commodity, canceled a tender for supplies. Soybeans edged

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higher on a mild short-covering bounce.
Corn faced additional pressure from the ongoing harvest of
the U.S. crop, which traders said was coming in above
expectations, and some profit-taking after prices rose in three
of the previous four sessions.
"Corn is taking some heat," said Karl Setzer, grains analyst
at MaxYield Cooperative in Iowa. "Even as we (harvest) what was
considered the worst areas of the Corn Belt, where there was
some concern, yields are still coming out about 20 to 25 bushels
an acre better than what was expected."
At 10:55 a.m. CDT (1555 GMT), CBOT corn for December
delivery was down 4-3/4 cents at $4.38-3/4 a bushel. The
market was finding support at $4.35 a bushel, a price hit last
week that was the lowest since September 2010.
Traders said there was talk of the Environmental Protection

Agency dropping the ethanol mandate for 2014 and 2015 by 6 to 10
percent, which would reduce the amount of corn needed to produce
the fuel.
CBOT December wheat was 1 cent lower at $6.89-1/2 a
bushel.
Egypt's GASC, the main government wheat buyer, said on
Thursday it had canceled a tender for wheat for shipment Nov.
21-30 due to high prices. GASC issued the tender Wednesday
afternoon.
CBOT wheat has risen 7.2 percent since the start of
September.
Soybeans firmed following two straight days of declines, but
the market came off its highs due to the drop in corn. Traders
also said soybeans had trouble holding support above the 50-day
moving average.
CBOT November soybeans were up 3-1/2 cents at
$12.91-1/4 a bushel. Prices peaked at $13.02 earlier in the
trading day.
Traders continued to cast about for fresh fundamental news
in the absence of reports from the U.S. Agriculture Department.
The partial shutdown of the federal government left traders

without the weekly export sales report for the second Thursday
in a row.
Additionally, there will be no monthly crop report or world
supply and demand estimates. USDA originally planned to release
those closely watched reports on Friday.

Prices at 10:58 a.m. CDT (1558 GMT)

LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 438.25 -5.25 -1.2% -37.2%
CBOT soy 1364.00 3.50 0.3% -3.9%
CBOT meal 425.80 0.60 0.1% 1.2%
CBOT soyoil 40.78 0.23 0.6% -17.0%
CBOT wheat 634.00 -1.50 -0.2% -18.5%
CBOT rice 1510.00 -2.50 -0.2% 1.6%
EU wheat 198.75 1.25 0.6% -20.6%

US crude 103.14 1.53 1.5% 12.3%
Dow Jones 15,035 232 1.6% 14.7%
Gold 1300.51 -6.08 -0.5% -22.3%
Euro/dollar 1.3531 0.0008 0.1% 2.6%
Dollar Index 80.4230 0.0470 0.1% 0.8%
Baltic Freight 2011 -114 -5.4% 187.7%

In U.S. cents, benchmark contracts, except EU wheat (euros) and
soymeal (dollars). CBOT wheat, corn and soybeans per bushel,
rice per hundredweight, soymeal per ton and soyoil per lb.

(Reporting by Mark Weinraub; Editing by John Wallace)