Wheat slips further as Russian rain forecast eases supply fears

CANBERRA, April 30 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures on Tuesday fell further from last week's four-month highs as forecasts for rain in key Russian cropping regions eased supply concerns.

Soybean and corn futures also slipped amid plentiful supply.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.4% at $6.06 a bushel by 0034 GMT after falling more than 2% on Monday.

* CBOT soybeans were down 0.4% at $11.77-1/4 a bushel and corn fell 0.1% to $4.48-3/4 a bushel.

* All three contracts have fallen this year to their lowest levels since 2020, with speculative investors expecting supply surpluses and building up large bearish futures positions.

* Worries that hot and dry weather in southern Russia would hit yields helped power a seven-day streak of gains for CBOT wheat that pushed prices to $6.33-1/2 on Friday, the highest since Dec. 29.

* Russia is the world's biggest wheat exporter.

* Dry conditions persist in parts of the United States, however, keeping traders on alert, and wet weather has pushed down European harvest projections.

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said last week that as of April 23, around 30% of U.S. winter wheat was located in an area experiencing drought.

* A weekly USDA crop progress report on Monday showed 49% of the U.S. winter wheat crop rated in good-to-excellent condition, down a percentage point from last week.

* Despite the weather concerns, analysts still expect the global market to shift from the shortages of recent years to surplus.

* In soybeans, prices got some support on Monday from Argentina's SOEA oilseed workers' union, which kicked off a strike to protest a labour reform bill backed by President Javier Milei.

* However, U.S. soybeans are being out-competed by cheap South American supplies, keeping a lid on Chicago futures.

* Argentina's soybean production is forecast to more than double this year to around 50 million metric tons, and while Brazil's output is expected to shrink, a large harvest is still expected.

* Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybeans on Monday but net sellers of wheat and corn, traders said.

MARKETS NEWS

* U.S. stocks gained ground on Monday and the yen surged amid suspected intervention as investors embarked on what promises to be an action-packed week.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Rashmi Aich)