GRAINS-Wheat extends gains on output concerns; corn, soybeans ease

MUMBAI, May 24 (Reuters) – U.S. wheat futures extended gains on Tuesday on a slower pace of spring wheat planting and concerns over yield for the winter crop in the United States, while soybeans and corn eased amid falling crude oil prices.

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.63% at $11.97-1/4 a bushel, as of 0202 GMT.

* Corn eased 0.35% to $7.83-1/2 a bushel and soybeans edged 0.28% lower to $16.82-1/4 a bushel.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said spring wheat seeding was 49% complete as on Sunday, below the lowest in a range of trade estimates and well behind the five-year average of 83%. For winter wheat, the USDA rated 28% of the crop in good-to-excellent condition, up 1 percentage point from the previous week.

* The USDA said farmers had planted 72% of their intended corn acres, ahead of the average estimate of 68% in a Reuters analyst poll.

* Soybean planting was 50% complete by Sunday, the USDA said, up from 30% a week earlier. The figure was ahead of the average analyst estimate of 49%, but behind the five-year average of 55%.

* The European Union’s crop monitoring service MARS on Monday lowered its forecast of the EU’s average soft wheat yield this year to 5.89 tonnes per hectare (t/ha) from 5.95 t/ha projected last month, now 2.5% below the 2021 level.

MARKET NEWS

* Oil prices eased in early trade as concerns over a possible recession and weaker consumption outweighed an expectation of tight global supply.

* Asian shares slipped as relief at a rally on Wall Street was quickly soured by a slide in U.S. stock futures, while the euro held near one-month highs as odds narrowed on a July rate rise by the ECB. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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