CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade grain and soyabean futures rose on Tuesday as traders adjusted positions ahead of a US report on crop plantings and continued to worry about the risks for unfavorable weather.
Analysts on average expect the US Department of Agriculture in a Wednesday report to increase its estimate for corn plantings by about 3% from March, according to a Reuters poll. Soybean plantings are seen up 1.5% from March.
Still, some traders remain nervous about the potential for hot or dry weather to hurt yields when crop inventories are slim.
"The problem is that little rain is in the forecast for the dry areas and too much rain is in the forecast for the areas that are already too wet," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, analyst for Summit Commodity Brokerage.
"All of these weather problems are concerning given that the US needs to see near-record corn yields."
December corn futures, which represent the crop that will be harvested this fall, were up 6 cents at $5.53-1/4 a bushel by 10:05 a.m. CDT (1505 GMT) at the Chicago Board of Trade.
November soyabeans rose 2-1/2 cents to $13.15 a bushel, while September wheat was up 3-1/2 cents at $6.55.
"Hot weather is a real and a longer-term concern," said Ole Houe, director of advisory services at brokerage IKON Commodities in Sydney.
The USDA, in a weekly report on Monday, rated 64% of the US corn crop in good to excellent condition, down 1 percentage point from the prior week and below analysts' expectations. In Canada, farmers expanded canola plantings this spring to cash in on record-high prices, but Prairie drought threatens to scorch crops.
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