FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of
Trade (CBOT) lost 0.5% to $6.30-1/2 a bushel, as of 0032
GMT and corn gave up 0.4% to $5.82-1/2 a bushel. Soybeans were flat at $14.19-1/4 a bushel.
* Recent rain in the drought-hit U.S. Plains and forecasts
for more have eased concerns about hard red winter wheat
production.
* In a sign more Ukrainian grain may hit the market, the
European Commission said on Friday it had reached a deal in
principle to allow the transit of Ukrainian grain to resume
through five European Union countries that had imposed
restrictions.
* The corn market is facing headwinds as a large Brazilian
crop is easting into demand for U.S. supplies.
* A bumper Brazilian soybean crop is also expected to flow
onto export markets, offsetting a drought-hit harvest in
Argentina.
* Large speculators increased their net short position in
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures in the week to April 25,
regulatory data released on Friday showed.
* The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and cut their net long position in soybeans.
MARKET NEWS
* U.S. stocks rallied to a higher close on Friday and
benchmark Treasury yields dipped at the end of a week marked by
strong earnings, wrapping up a solid month with data confirming
inflation is cooling, which could allow the Federal Reserve to
pause after next week's expected rate hike. DATA/EVENTS (GMT, April)
1345 US S&P Global Mfg PMI Final
1400 US ISM Manufacturing PMI
(Reporting by Naveen Thukral)
