GRAINS-Wheat up on US Plains dryness, soybeans fall on profit taking

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, April 17 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures rose on Thursday, supported by concerns that forecasted rain will not be enough to alleviate dryness in some U.S. wheat production regions, analysts said.

Corn and soybean futures fell as traders booked profits ahead of the long Easter weekend.

Dealers are continuing to await news about possible trade talks between China and the United States, which could restart U.S. soybean exports to China. However, analysts said much of the impact of the trade war has already been factored into prices, turning market attention to other factors.

Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat Wv1 settled up 1 cent to $5.48-3/4 per bushel. Corn Cv1 ended down 1-1/2 cents to $4.90-1/4 a bushel, soybeans Sv1 settled down 2-1/4 cents to $10.36-1/2 per bushel.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported winter wheat conditions at 47% good-to-excellent on Monday, with 34% of the U.S. wheat crop affected by drought as of Tuesday. Dryness concerns have made wheat futures sensitive to twists in precipitation forecasts, which currently predict major wheat-growing areas will miss out on expected rains this weekend.

While swathes of the U.S. Plains are likely to remain too dry, heavy rain over the U.S. corn belt has delayed seeding and boosted prices.

Optimism in the market following a Bloomberg report on Wednesday stating that the Chinese government would be open to trade talks has since petered out as traders have remained on guard against bearish trade news from Washington or Beijing.

"Today we're coming back toward reality. The warm fuzzy feelings from yesterday have faded," Ted Seifried, vice president of Zaner Group, said. "People are squaring books up before the three-day weekend. Who knows what kind of headline risks we'll have. This administration seems to do things at any point."