Wheat's rally pauses as adverse weather threatens supply

CANBERRA, April 29 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures edged lower on Monday but remained near four-month highs after concerns that adverse weather conditions in Russia, Europe and the United States could reduce supply pushed prices up around 10% last week.

Corn and soybean prices were little changed.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.2% at $6.21-1/4 a bushel by 0104 GMT after rising to $6.33-1/4 on Friday.

* CBOT soybeans rose 0.3% to $11.81 a bushel and corn was up 0.2% at $4.51 a bushel.

* Wheat prices rose for seven consecutive trading sessions as speculative investors were forced to cover some of their large short positions.

* In Russia, the world's biggest wheat exporter, the state weather forecaster said it sees a threat of drought persisting in May in the eastern half of the Southern Federal District, a key cropping region.

* Russian export prices rose last week but the country is still shipping record quantities of wheat after two consecutive bumper harvests.

* Russia's 2024 grain harvest could drop to 132 million metric tons from 144.9 tons in 2023, the country's agriculture ministry said last week.

* Dry weather in parts of the central United States and freezing conditions in parts of Europe were also fuelling supply concerns.

* The European Commission last week cut its forecast for the European Union's main wheat crop in 2024/25 to a new four-year low.

* In France, the EU's top producer, the condition of soft wheat crops edged down last week to remain at a four-year low, data from farm office FranceAgriMer showed.

* Wheat's rally follows a long period during which plentiful cheap supply from the Black Sea pushed lower, with CBOT wheat falling in March to $5.23-1/2, its lowest since 2020.

* Russia continues to ship huge amounts of wheat. Ukraine's grain exports could also total 6-7 million tons in April despite Russian attacks on its port infrastructure.

* Corn and soybeans are also near four-year lows hit in February amid plentiful supply.

MARKETS NEWS

* Global stocks rose on Friday as Big Tech gains lifted Wall Street shares, while Japan's yen sank to a 34-year low after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept monetary policy loose.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson)