Soybeans Called Higher as Conditions Fall; Corn, Wheat Mixed

What follows are opening calls for U.S. grain and oilseed markets, which open at 5 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade.

-- Soybean futures may open 2 cents to 3 cents a bushel higher after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report that 29 percent of the crop was in good or excellent condition as of yesterday compared with 31 percent the prior week, Jerry Gidel, the chief feed-grain analyst at Rice Dairy LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. Soybean-oil futures may open steady to 0.2 cent a pound higher, and soybean-meal futures may open $1 to $2 higher per 2,000 pounds.

-- Corn futures may open 2 cents lower to 2 cents higher per bushel as crop conditions declined by 2 percentage points from a week earlier to 24 percent good or excellent, in line with expectations, Gidel said.

-- Wheat futures may open 2 cents a bushel lower to 2 cents higher, Gidel said. Spring-wheat conditions improved to 63 percent good or excellent from 60 percent a week earlier, USDA data show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony C. Dreibus in Chicago at tdreibus@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net