GRAINS-Wheat rises nearly 2 percent on Russian supply worries

* Wheat up for second day, buoyed by Russian stocks data
* Short-covering adds support to wheat
* Soybeans fall amid US rains; firm cash underpins nearbys
* Corn firm, supported by supply fears amid U.S. drought

(Updates with closing prices)
By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures rose 1.8
percent o n T hursday on concerns about tightening stocks in
Russia due to drought that could force the country, one of the
world's biggest wheat suppliers, to curb exports.
New-crop soybean futures backtracked from a 2.3 percent rise
on Wednesday as more rains crossed the U.S. Midwest crop belt,
and corn prices rose on firm cash markets.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, September wheat futures
settled up 15 cents at $8.61-3/4 per bushel.
Benchmark December corn ended up 3-1/2 cents, or 0.4
percent, at $8.07-1/2 a bushel. Most-active November soybeans
fell 9-1/4 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $16.25-1/4 a bushel.
Wheat futures advanced on news from Russia's SovEcon
consultancy that Russian grain stocks at farms stood at 15.73
million tonnes as of Aug. 1, their lowest level since 2006.
Wheat stocks fell to their lowest level since 2003 at 10.61
million tonnes.
Russian grain stocks were down 18 percent year-on-year while
wheat stocks were down 30 percent after the sales volume
increased by 60 percent.
The data renewed worries that Russia would take steps to
limit grain exports. The stocks figures followed two purchases
in the past week by Egypt that traders said showed the
determination of the world's largest wheat buyer to secure
competitively priced Russian grain before a small export surplus
runs out.
"It's the same idea that it is going to lead to some kind of
restriction at some point on the exports," said Dan Cekander,
analyst with Newedge USA in Chicago.
Bullish technical signals added support as front-month CBOT
wheat rebounded from a one-month low set on Tuesday at
$8.38-1/4.
"We broke out to the bottom the day before yesterday, and
just getting back to the trading range probably stimulated some
short-covering," Cekander said.
Also supportive was dry weather in Western Australia, the
country's main producing and exporting region, that could hurt
the developing wheat crop there.

RAINS FOR U.S. SOYBEANS
New-crop soybean futures were under pressure from
much-needed rains in the U.S. Midwest crop belt that could
improve yield prospects for late-planted crops.
"There are people who believe rains will at least stabilize
yields and in some instances might even help yields," said Mike
Krueger, president of the Money Farm, a grain marketing advisory
firm near Fargo, North Dakota.
Firm cash markets, however, underpinned front-month
September soybeans. Domestic soybean processors have been
paying a premium for prompt-delivery soybeans due to strong soy
crush margins.
Traders were also analyzing acreage data from the U.S. Farm
Service Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that
some said implied an increase in U.S. soybean planted acreage
compared to USDA's latest official forecast of 76.1 million
acres.
Trade was thin, with estimated volume in CBOT soybean
futures poised to fall below 130,000 contracts for a third
straight day.
CBOT corn posted modest gains, with nearby contracts leading
the way up on firm cash markets in the interior U.S. Midwest.
Worries about the size of the U.S. corn crop continued to
underpin the market. A weekly climate report showed the worst
U.S. drought in a half century kept a tight hold on top farm
states over the past week.
The U.S. Drought Monitor indicated that rain provided some
relief to parched farm land stretching from Iowa through Ohio,
while other areas including the southern and central Plains were
not as lucky and remained parched.

Prices at 3:06 p.m. CDT (2006 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 807.50 3.50 0.4% 24.9%
CBOT soy 1625.25 -9.25 -0.6% 35.6%
CBOT meal 516.50 -3.50 -0.7% 66.9%
CBOT soyoil 53.04 -0.03 -0.1% 1.8%
CBOT wheat 861.75 15.00 1.8% 32.0%
CBOT rice 1532.00 15.50 1.0% 4.9%
EU wheat 260.00 3.75 1.5% 28.4%

US crude 95.27 0.92 1.0% -3.6%
Dow Jones 13,250 85 0.7% 8.5%
Gold 1613.85 10.97 0.7% 3.2%
Euro/dollar 1.2356 0.0068 0.6% -4.6%
Dollar Index 82.3880 -0.2570 -0.3% 2.8%
Baltic Freight 720 -8 -1.1% -58.6%

(Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen
Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Jim Marshall and Alden Bentley)