GRAINS-Wheat futures lose ground as rainfall eases dryness

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Wheat falls as rains hit US Plains

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Soybeans rise on strong US export demand

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Corn falls on signs of harvest pressure

(Updates throughout; changes headline/byline/dateline; adds bullets)

By Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO, Oct 31 (Reuters) -

Chicago wheat futures turned lower on Thursday as rains hit drought-stricken areas of the U.S. Plains, traders said.

Corn futures also fell as U.S. harvesting weighed on prices, while soybeans rose on international demand.

Dry weather has aided the U.S. corn and soy harvests this autumn but impeded U.S. winter wheat planting and hurt crop conditions.

Rain showers hitting dry areas of the Plains are now adding much-needed moisture to the region's germinating wheat crop, though. Drought was affecting 62% of the U.S. winter wheat crop as of Tuesday, up from 58% a week earlier, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade slid 6-3/4 cents to $5.66-1/2 a bushel by 1600 GMT. Corn fell 1-1/4 cents to $4.10-1/4 a bushel, and soybeans rose 3-1/2 cents to $9.80 a bushel.

Corn futures swayed up and down as U.S. farmer sales of crops from the autumn harvest outweighed strong U.S. export demand.

"Producers waited until bins were stuffed full until marketing the last part they can't store," Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading, said. "That's going right to the market and pressuring futures."

A bump in crude oil and palm oil prices helped support the soy complex, Gerlach said.

Strong export demand underpinned corn and soy futures recently despite U.S. farmers harvesting some of the largest crops in history.

The USDA confirmed private sales of 150,000 metric tons of U.S. soymeal to undisclosed destinations for delivery in the 2024/25 marketing year that began Oct. 1.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported

export sales

of U.S. soybeans in the week ended Oct. 24 at 2.3 million metric tons and U.S. corn sales of 2.3 million metric tons. Both were in line with trade expectations.

Industry players are awaiting the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election outcome. (Reporting by Heather Schlitz in Chicago. Additional reporting by Mei Mei Chu in Beijing and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Kirsten Donovan and Richard Chang)