GRAINS-Soybeans Up For 2nd Day on Concerns Over Argentina Dryness

(Reuters) –  Soybeans gain for 4 out of 5 sessions, corn eases after

rally

* Market building in weather premium in beans on Argentina

dryness Dec 12 Chicago soybeans extended

gains on Monday, rising for four out five sessions with hot and

dry weather in parts of Argentina’s oilseed belt buoying the

market.

Corn was unchanged after last session’s rally as prices were

capped by ample global supply, while wheat edged lower after two

days of gains.

“Southern Argentina is forecast to receive some rain today

and tomorrow but not enough to scratch dryness fears off the

watchlist,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy

at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

“And hot conditions developing mid-week will increase

evaporation rates. Argentina’s crop will be depending on a

forecast rain event that is still a little over a week away.

Prices are likely to continue moving higher between now and then

as traders price in the risk that the event does not evolve.”

Chicago Board of Trade’s most-active soybean contract

had risen 0.9 percent to $10.47 a bushel by 0348 GMT, having

firmed 1 percent on Friday.

Corn was flat at $3.59-3/4 a bushel, having gained 1.7

percent in the previous session. Wheat slid 0.4 percent to

$4.14-3/4 a bushel, after closing up almost 2 percent on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture raised its global ending

stocks outlook for corn, soybeans and wheat due to increased

production outlooks in countries such as Brazil and Australia.

In its monthly supply and demand report, the agency said

that U.S corn ending stocks for the 2016/17 marketing year would

come in at 2.403 billion bushels, 10 million bushels below the

average of estimates given in a Reuters survey of analysts.

U.S. soybean ending stocks of 480 million bushels were 10

million bushels higher than the average of trade forecasts.

For wheat, it raised its world ending stocks outlook to

252.14 million tonnes from 249.23 million tonnes. It also raised

its estimate of the Australian wheat harvest to 33 million

tonnes from 28.30 million tonnes. Analysts had expected wheat

ending stocks of 250.33 million tonnes.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commision after the close of

trading on Friday said speculative investors, including hedge

funds, increased their net short or bearish positions in CBOT

corn and wheat futures and slashed their net long in soybeans in

the week ended Dec. 6.