GRAINS-Soybeans rebound on short covering, corn hits contract lows on good crop weather

By Karl Plume

CHICAGO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures rose on Monday in a short-covering bounce from four-month lows as the U.S. crop enters its critical reproductive stage of development and as the condition rating for the U.S. crop was expected to decline in a weekly report.

Corn futures eased and several contracts posted fresh lifetime lows as favorable U.S. crop weather reinforced expectations for a bumper harvest this autumn.

Wheat futures were mixed after posting contract lows under pressure from ample global supplies.

Corn and soybean prices have been hovering around multi-month lows as South American harvests were projected to be very large and as U.S. Midwest crops have faced few weather risks this summer.

"Brazil is in the midst of their heavy corn harvest. It looks large and that corn is hitting the export market. And U.S. weather is non-threatening, so we're marketing toward a crop," said Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities. "But you can still have problems with soybeans, so there's a little more respect in the market for that this time of year."

Forecasters expect mild and dry weather across the Midwest in the near term, with warmer and rainier conditions likely in the six- to 15-day window.

Grain traders awaited the U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress and conditions report slated for release on Monday afternoon. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the USDA to lower its corn and soybean ratings by 1 percentage point from the prior week.

Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans SX25 ended up 5-1/4 cents at $9.94-1/2 a bushel after earlier matching a low set on Friday that was the contract's lowest level since April 9.

CBOT December corn CZ25 fell 3-3/4 cents to $4.07 a bushel. All contracts, from September 2025 through July 2026, posted fresh contract lows.

CBOT September wheat WU25 ended unchanged at $5.16-3/4 a bushel after notching a contract low of $5.13 earlier in the session.