GRAINS-Soy futures soar on US weather woes, positioning ahead of USDA data

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By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures hit their highest in two months on Friday as soymeal futures SMV24 surged by 5% on worries about damage to crops and infrastructure in the Gulf Coast region following the landfall of Hurricane Helene as well as short-covering ahead of key crop reports due Monday, analysts said.

Corn futures followed soybeans higher while wheat futures were lower, anchored by persistent export competition from Black Sea suppliers.

As of 12:53 p.m. CDT (1753 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans SX24 were up 21-1/4 cents at $10.62-1/4 a bushel after reaching $10.69-1/2, the contract's highest since July 26. Front-month October soymeal futures SMV24 were up $18.30 at $342.50 per short ton after rising to $345.60, their highest since mid-June.

Benchmark CBOT corn Cv1 was up 5 cents at $4.18-1/4 a bushel while wheat Wv1 was down 4-1/2 cents at $5.79-3/4 a bushel.

Soybeans soared at mid-session, fueled in part by storm-related concerns. Helene brought life-threatening flooding to the Carolinas after causing widespread destruction as a major hurricane moving through Florida and Georgia overnight.

"There is a bit of concern about some infrastructure damage along the Gulf Coast," said Terry Reilly, senior agricultural strategist at Marex. "End-of-month and end-of-quarter positioning is adding the strength, with some of the shorts exiting the market," Reilly said.

Widespread rains from the storm were expected to slow the harvest of soybeans and corn in the far southern Midwest and far northern Delta over the next few days, space technology company Maxar said in a daily weather note. However, elsewhere in the Corn Belt, traders expect a busy harvest weekend.

Market bulls continued to note uncertainty about the likelihood of rains next month in northern areas of Brazil, the world's biggest soy producer, where dry conditions have slowed the start of planting.

Traders were also bracing for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's closely watched quarterly stocks and annual small grains summary reports due on Monday.

The wheat market remained under pressure as Russian supplies continued to dominate the export market while U.S. wheat sales lagged in the latest reporting week.

(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

((Julie.ingwersen@thomsonreuters.com; 1-313-484-5283; Reuters Messaging: julie.ingwersen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))