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

Updates with closing U.S. prices

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean futures hit their highest in two months on Friday and soymeal futures SMV24 surged 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 ended lower, anchored by persistent export competition from Black Sea suppliers.

Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans SX24 settled up 24-3/4 cents, or 2.4%, at $10.65-3/4 per bushel after reaching $10.69-1/2, the contract's highest since July 26. CBOT October soymeal futures SMV24 jumped by 6% as traders exited positions ahead of the contract's first notice day on Monday.

Corn futures Cv1 ended up 4-3/4 cents at $4.18 a bushel while CBOT wheat Wv1 finished down 4-1/4 cents at $5.80 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 noted 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. Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expect the USDA to report the largest Sept. 1 stocks of U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat in four years.

Meanwhile, wheat futures 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 and David Gregorio)

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