CBOT corn eases on brighter weather prospects

CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn futures declined on Monday on slow exports of US corn coupled with improved crop weather in the United States and Argentina, traders said.

* Some light rainfall and snowcover in portions of the US Plains hard red winter wheat region will help ease drought worries, an agricultural meteorologist said. "It didn't eliminate concerns but it took a good chunk out of concerns," said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring.

* Improved crop weather was seen on Monday for Argentina and satisfactory crop weather continued in Brazil, Dee said. "The forecast is for improved rainfall in Argentina's growing region," he said. Most of Argentina received rain on Sunday totaling 0.50 inch or less with 1.14 inches posted in Rosario, a key crop-producing area, Dee said.

* Roughly the northern two-thirds of Argentina is expected to receive rainfall of up to 0.60 inch on Monday night and Tuesday and another round of rain from 0.50 inch to 1.00 inch is seen early next week "over a fairly widespread area", he said.

* Farmers will harvest a record 14.4 billion bushels of corn this year, the US Agriculture Department projected on Monday, assuming mammoth sowings and a return to normal weather.

* Large speculators raised their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Feb. 5, regulatory data released on Friday showed.

* A group of Israeli private buyers has issued an international tender to purchase up to 105,000 tonnes of corn, 45,000 tonnes of feed wheat and 25,000 tonnes of feed barley, European traders said.

* Key resistance for the March contract is at its 200-day moving average of $7.05. The nine-day relative strength index is at 29.