GRAINS-Soybeans, wheat, corn end lower on broad commodities slump

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybeans, wheat and corn futures fell on Monday, tracking a slump in broader commodities markets, particularly falling crude oil prices.

Chicago Board of Trade most-active soybeans Sv1 settled down 4 cents to $10.60-1/4 a bushel. Wheat Wv1 closed 10-1/4 cents lower at $5.27-3/4 a bushel, and corn Cv1 closed down 2-1/2 cents to $4.25-3/4 per bushel.

"Weakness in energies is 99% responsible for what's going on in grains markets," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading. "You can't have crude down 4% to 5% and not see corn and soybeans suffer as a result."

Corn and soybeans, whose byproducts are used to produce biodiesel, often track weakness in crude oil prices.

In South America, Brazil is in the early stages of harvesting what is forecast to be a record soybean crop. Traders expect China to turn mainly to Brazil for imports in the coming months after a recent wave of U.S. soybean purchases.

Rains across key agricultural regions in western Argentina improved soil moisture conditions, yet soy and corn crops will still need more rainfall in the coming weeks to avoid yield losses. But harvesting of Argentina's big new crop is finishing, traders said.

Chicago wheat drew background support from severe cold in the wheat belts of the U.S. and the Black Sea region, though snow cover helped protect crops from winterkill in many areas. Traders are also monitoring forecasts of deep frost in Ukraine this week that could cause crop damage.