GRAINS-Soy drops on slowing export demand; corn, wheat also fall
* U.S. soy demand slows as S. American supplies flood market
* Corn, wheat drop for first time in five sessions
* Traders unwind bull spreads in corn, soybeans
* Firmer dollar adds pressure to grains
(Rewrites throughout, updates prices, changes dateline from HAMBURG/SYDNEY, changes byline) CHICAGO, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures tumbled for a second straight day on Wednesday on slowing global demand for the remnants of last autumn's U.S. harvest as South American supplies are beginning to flood the market. Corn and wheat prices declined in a profit-taking setback that snapped a four-session streak of gains, with additional pressure in corn stemming from technical selling. A firmer U.S. dollar, which makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for buyers holding other currencies, further weighed on grains. Traders unwound bullish spread bets in corn and soybeans by selling nearby contracts and buying deferred positions, eroding some of the premiums that shorter-dated contracts have built up amid concerns about historically tight U.S. supplies. "The dollar being up is one thing but the main thing is unwinding of bull spreads. Bull spreads have been driving this higher in both beans and corn and they're unwinding those now," Sterling Smith, futures strategist for Citigroup. "Product is starting to become available from Brazil, beans and also some corn, so that will be coming on line." Chicago Board of Trade May-delivery soybeans fell 23-1/4 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $14.45-1/2 per bushel by 10:24 a.m. CDT (1524 GMT) while new-crop November futures dipped 10-1/2 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $12.59 a bushel. CBOT May corn dropped 7-3/4 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $7.06-1/2 a bushel after matching a 4-1/2-week high of $7.17-3/4. Selling in May corn accelerated as prices fell below the 50-day moving average of $7.08-3/4. New-crop December shed 5-1/4 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $5.52 a bushel. CBOT May wheat slipped 2 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $7.01-1/2 a bushel. Good near-term export prospects for U.S. soft red winter wheat due to competitive prices in the world market limited declines. Iran has been in talks to buy around 110,000 tonnes of U.S.-origin milling wheat for April shipment.
Prices at 10:40 a.m. CDT (1540 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD CHG CHG CHG CBOT corn 705.50 -8.75 -1.2% 9.1% CBOT soy 1445.00 -24.00 -1.6% 20.6% CBOT meal 428.70 -7.50 -1.7% 38.6% CBOT soyoil 49.48 -0.50 -1.0% -5.0% CBOT wheat 701.50 -2.00 -0.3% 7.5% CBOT rice 1510.00 -13.50 -0.9% 3.4% EU wheat 232.25 -0.25 -0.1% 14.7%US crude 92.89 0.35 0.4% -6.0% Dow Jones 14,442 -8 -0.1% 18.2% Gold 1587.40 -4.69 -0.3% 1.5% Euro/dollar 1.2949 -0.0083 -0.6% 0.0% Dollar Index 82.9580 0.3740 0.5% 3.5% Baltic Freight 875 10 1.2% -49.7%
(Additional reporting by Sam Nelson in Chicago; Editing by Dale Hudson)