GRAINS-US wheat futures dip on sluggish exports and timely US Plains rain

By P.J. Huffstutter

CHICAGO, April 6 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures dipped to a nearly two-week low on Monday, amid signs of sluggish export demand and reports of timely rain falling across drought-stressed portions of the U.S. Plains, traders said.

Rainfall is expected in the eastern two-thirds of the Plains wheat belt over the next 10 days, while chances are lower in the far western one-third of the region, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday reported that U.S. wheat export inspections for the week ended April 2 were 334,106 metric tons, at the low end of trade expectations.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 fell 0.79% to $5.93-1/2 a bushel by 11:32 a.m. CDT (1632 GMT). Earlier in the session, the contract touched $5.88-1/2, the lowest price since March 25.

CBOT corn and soybean futures ticked higher on export demand and weakness in the U.S. dollar, which can make commodities less expensive for overseas buyers, traders said.

Traders also are anticipating the upcoming meeting in May between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during Trump's first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip that comes just a year after Washington rolled ​out sweeping and at times erratic global tariffs.

The confrontation between the world's two top economies has evolved from ‌tit-for-tat tariffs to managing tensions following numerous rounds of trade talks, as well as phone calls and a meeting between their presidents last year.

"People's antennas have really been raised by this upcoming meeting, because it has some potential for not only China making soybean purchases - but also possibly making some corn sales too," said Bill Lapp, an agricultural economist at Advanced Economic Solutions in Omaha, Nebraska.

CBOT's most-active soybean futures contract Sv1 was up 0.3% at $11.67 a bushel, while most-active corn Cv1 was up 0.28% at $4.53-1/2 a bushel. Earlier in the session, the corn contract dipped to $4.48-1/4 a bushel, the lowest price seen since March 10.

Concerns over a possible escalation of the Iran war and prolonged disruptions to oil supplies added uncertainty to the choppy day of corn trading, market analysts said. A shortage of fertilizers linked to the conflict could also impact the size and quality of crops in some regions.

Oil also had a volatile session on Monday, as investors awaited clarity on the status of talks between the U.S. and Iran and remained wary about sustained supply losses due to shipping disruptions.