FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of
Trade (CBOT) was up 0.4% at $6.81-3/4 a bushel, as of 0106 GMT,
soybeans gained 0.3% at $15.11-3/4 a bushel and corn rose 0.1% to $6.18 a bushel.
* The dollar weakened on Friday after U.S. labour data for
February showed slower wage growth, suggesting an easing of
inflation pressures may keep the Federal Reserve's pace of
interest rate hikes modest and thereby reduce the greenback's
appeal.
* A weaker dollar makes the greenback-priced commodities
cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.
* The market's attention is on talks to renew the Black Sea
grain deal.
* A top U.N. trade official will meet senior Russian
officials in Geneva this week to discuss extending the deal.
* However, Russia's foreign ministry said on Sunday that
Russian representatives had not yet taken part in negotiations
on extending the Black Sea grain deal.
* A historic drought ravaging Argentina's crops is deepening
the country's economic crisis, crushing farmers across the
Pampas, heightening default fears and putting at risk targets
agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
* The South American nation, the world's top exporter of
processed soybeans and No. 3 for corn, is in the grip of it
worst drought in over 60 years, which has led to repeated sharp
cuts to soybean and corn harvest forecasts.
* Large speculators cut their net long position in CBOT corn
futures in the week to Feb. 21, regulatory data released on
Friday showed.
* The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly
commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial
traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their
net short position in CBOT wheat and raised their net long
position in soybeans.
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stock futures rallied in Asian trade on Monday as
authorities announced plans to limit the fallout from the
collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), while investors wagered
future hikes in U.S rates would now be less aggressive. DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 UK Claimant Count Unem Chng Feb
0700 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Jan
0700 UK HMRC Payrolls Change Feb
Euro group finance ministers meet in Brussels
(Reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
