CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade corn, soyabeans and wheat rallied on Monday, with traders focused on forecasts for heat in the western US Midwest that will quickly dry out soils in major production areas.

Weekend rains would do little to protect crops in areas that faced severe moisture deficits during the past month, traders said.

“The heat that was out in the far West, it looks like it is working its way back into the western Corn Belt,” said Mark Schultz, chief market analyst at Northstar Commodity. “You don’t want to have 95-degree heat leading into (corn) pollination.”

At 11:17 a.m. CDT (1617 GMT) Chicago Board of Trade corn for December delivery was up 19-1/2 cents at $5.38-3/4 a bushel. The contract found technical support at its 100-day moving average.

CBOT November soyabeans were 40 cents higher at $13.09-3/4 a bushel and broke through their 10-day moving average for the first time in two weeks.

Although weekend rain was heavy in some areas, other spots received just enough to protect the crop for a short amount of time.

“They bought time for crops,” Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX said in a note to clients “(But) many areas only received enough rain to buy a week to 10 days for crops.”

CBOT soft red winter wheat was up 13 cents at $6.54-3/4 a bushel.

MGEX spring wheat for September delivery gained 23 cents to $8.31. The front-month contract hit its highest since May 2013, with traders noting some reports that farmers in the northern Plains were abandoning some drought-damaged acres or cutting it for hay.

Traders are awaiting key US acreage and stocks data due on Wednesday from the US Department of Agriculture.