GRAINS-Wheat slips towards 5-year lows as Russia steps up exports
CANBERRA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures slipped for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as top exporter Russia stepped up the pace of its exports amid abundant global supply.
Soybean and corn futures also edged lower, with large U.S. harvests in full swing.
FUNDAMENTALS
* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 was down 0.1% at $5.06-1/2 a bushel at 0033 GMT, with CBOT corn Cv1 falling 0.1% to $4.19-1/2 a bushel and soybeans Sv1 0.1% lower at $10.20-3/4 a bushel.
* Wheat is down more than 1.5% so far this week and is nearing a 5-year low of $5.00-3/4 reached in August.
* The U.S. dollar rose to its strongest against a basket of major currencies since August, making dollar-priced U.S. commodities costlier for importers. .DXY USD/
* Russian analysts said on Monday they expect the country's exports to accelerate. Consultants Sovecon raised their estimate of September wheat exports by 0.3 million metric tons to 4.6 million tons and forecast shipment of 5 million tons in October.
* Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev estimated this year's wheat harvest at 88 million tons, the latest in a series of bumper crops.
* Good rainfall in large parts of the Black Sea region underscored the prevalence of crop-friendly weather across many of the world's big wheat exporting nations this year.
* In the United States, winter wheat planting was estimated to be 50% finished as of Sunday, according to analysts polled by Reuters.
* Ukraine intends to significantly expand its irrigated land over the next few years to offset the negative impact of regular droughts in southern and eastern regions, an official said.
* Bangladesh has approved the purchase of about 220,000 tons of U.S. wheat under a government-to-government deal aimed at easing trade tensions with Washington.
* In oilseeds, Argentina's government said it had ordered workers' unions to suspend plans for an indefinite strike over wages at processing plants.
* The U.S. government is expected to announce this week a U.S. farmer bailout plan worth as much as $15 billion, as China continues to boycott U.S. soybeans amid trade tensions.
MARKETS NEWS
* Major stock indexes fell on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 ending lower after recent record highs, and investors eyeing political upheaval in France, Japan and a U.S. government shutdown, while gold futures hit $4,000 an ounce for the first time. MKTS/GLOB
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