GRAINS-U.S. corn falls after weekly gains top 12 pct

SYDNEY, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. new-crop corn on Wednesday
fell from an 8-month high hit after the biggest two-day rally in
more than a year, as traders locked in profits ahead of
forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn dropped 0.76
percent after climbing 5.05 percent in the previous session as
unrelenting heat in the U.S. Midwest threatened deepening damage
to a once-record crop. That climb had taken gains for the week
to 12.5 percent, the most for the December contact since 2009.
Spot corn fell 0.31 percent on Wednesday.
September wheat declined 0.69 percent, losing much of
its 0.81 percent gain from the previous session, while July corn
lost 0.69 percent.
New-crop November soybeans firmed 0.14 percent after
sliding 0.86 percent on Tuesday.

FUNDAMENTALS
* USDA may cut its forecast for year-ending stocks to the
tightest in 16 years.
* USDA's weekly report late Monday showed the condition of
corn and soybean crops was the worst for this time since 1988,
when one of the most damaging droughts in U.S. history decimated
crop yields.
* Temperatures in the 90s to 100s degrees Fahrenheit (32 to
38 degrees Celsius) are likely Wednesday and Thursday across the
U.S. Midwest, adding further pressure to corn.
* Midday weather forecasts for light showers this weekend in
the northern U.S. Corn Belt helped temper soybeans, which eased
from an earlier contract high, but did little to alleviate fears
of ultra-low late-summer corn supplies.
* USDA's weekly crop ratings rated U.S. corn 56 percent good
to excellent as of Sunday, down 7 percentage points from a week
earlier and well below a 61 percent average estimate in a
Reuters poll. Soybeans were 53 percent good to excellent, down
from 56 percent a week earlier. Corn ratings
have fallen for three straight weeks, cutting expectations for a
bumper crop this autumn, which the market was relying on to
replenish tight U.S. stocks.

MARKET NEWS
* The euro fell to it lowest against the dollar in more than
two weeks on Tuesday as Spanish bond yields rose and hopes faded
that a European summit would make progress in resolving the
region's debt crisis.
* Brent oil futures jumped 2 percent to top $93 a barrel on
Tuesday, widening its premium against U.S. crude as a growing
strike by oil workers in Norway tightened North Sea supplies.

* Major U.S. stock indexes bounced back on Tuesday, but
trading was light with the outlook clouded by doubts over the
summit in Europe.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0600 Germany Import prices
1230 U.S. Durable goods orders
1230 U.S. Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index
1400 U.S. Pending home sales
1430 U.S. EIA petroleum status report

Grains prices at 0024 GMT
Contract Last Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI
CBOT wheat 724.00 -5.00 -0.69% +10.20% 616.79 82
CBOT corn 619.25 -4.75 -0.76% -5.96% 609.23 68
CBOT soy 1415.25 2.00 +0.14% +15.30% 1161.49 66
CBOT rice $15.09 $0.06 +0.40% +3.04% $14.45 69
WTI crude $79.33 -$0.03 -0.04% -22.95% $98.17 32
Currencies
Euro/dlr $1.249 -$0.046 -3.53% -4.32%
USD/AUD 1.005 -0.032 -3.08% -3.11%
Most active contracts
Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight
RSI 14, exponential

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Joseph Radford)