U.S. and EU grains firmer ahead of USDA crop report
PARIS/SEOUL (Reuters) - U.S. and European grain futures were slightly higher on Wednesday ahead of a U.S. government report on 2008 crop area next Monday detailing damage caused by the worst floods in the U.S. Midwest in 15 years.
Flooding in early June trimmed production prospects, lifting corn prices to record highs last week and leaving the market vulnerable to profit-taking.
U.S. government surveyors in Iowa, a top corn and soy producing state, said 8 percent of the corn crop was flooded and 11 percent would need to be replanted, while 7 percent of the soybean acreage was flooded with 12 percent needing to be replanted.
July corn was 3-1/4 cents per bushel higher by 5:30 a.m. EDT at $7.15-3/4 a bushel and July soybean was up 12 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $15.13.
Soy rebounded from earlier losses in Asian trade as forecasts of another round of rainfall later this week in the Midwest outweighed pressure from a resumption of trade in Argentina, the world's third-largest soy exporter, following months of conflict over a soy export tax..
The July wheat contract was up 0.9 percent at $8.77-3/4 a bushel, supported by a rise on other markets and before results of Egypt's tender for 55,000 to 60,000 tonnes of optional-origin wheat for shipment July 20-31.
In Paris, Euronext milling wheat futures were slightly higher with benchmark November 0.5 euro or 0.25 percent up at 203.75 euros a tonne with 313 lots traded.
"The results of this tender will be known in early (European) afternoon and will be a new full-scale test to measure the competitiveness of Black Sea grains compared to other origins," French analyst Agritel said.
Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), bought Russian wheat at all of its latest tenders.
Operators stressed that Euronext volumes were very thin.
"The wheat market is quiet because traders are waiting for the results of the Egyptian tender and the USDA report on (U.S) acreages on Monday," a French broker said.
Rough rice futures fell nearly 3 percent, extending their overnight limit-down on technical selling that triggered sell-stops.
Rough rice futures for July delivery dropped 2.8 percent to $19.35 per hundredweight.
(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide and Mathilde Cru in Paris and Miyoung Kim in Seoul; editing by Peter Blackburn)
