Soybeans are bouncing back as US crops deteriorate in hot, dry weather

* USDA corn and soy crop ratings at worst since 2012 after a dry week

* Dry weather in Australia supports wheat after its lowest level in 3 months

PARIS/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Chicago soybean futures rose on Wednesday, reversing losses from the previous session, after a weekly US government report showed that crop conditions deteriorated more than expected during a hot, dry spell.

Corn prices rose after the USDA also downgraded the corn crop by more than expected.

Wheat prices rose for a second session, recovering more from their lowest levels in three months, as dry weather provided support in major exporting countries Australia, Argentina and Canada.

The most active Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) soybean contract rose 0.9% to $13.77-3/4 a bushel at 1044 GMT, after falling to its lowest level in more than a week on Tuesday.

Corn prices rose 0.5% to $4.88-1/2 a bushel.

In a crop progress report released after the market closed on Tuesday, the USDA rated 53% of the US soybean crop as good to excellent, down 5 percentage points from last week and below the 55% expected on average by analysts.

The USDA rated 53% of the US corn crop as good to excellent, down 3% from last week and below analysts’ expectations of 54%.

The good to excellent ratings for both crops are the lowest for this time of year since 2012, a historic drought year.

“These two products will be mainly driven today by the publication of new USDA crop classifications last night,” consultancy Agritel said.

The hot, dry end of summer has raised concerns about stress on soybean and corn plants. Attention turns to the USDA’s monthly supply and demand outlook released on September 12 for an update on the harvest outlook.

“The soybean and corn crops in the US are getting ready for harvest, and we are seeing more damage due to the hot and dry weather,” said a trader in Singapore.

Additional support for soybeans stemmed from USDA data that showed exporters sold 251,000 metric tons of U.S. beans to unknown destinations.

Wheat prices rose 1% to $6.05-1/4 a bushel.

This week’s lower official forecast for Australia’s wheat crop focused on dry conditions associated with an El Niño weather pattern.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Wednesday that areas experiencing severe rainfall shortages expanded in August.

Traders said wheat prices remained constrained by competition for Black Sea exports.

Russian consulting company Sovicon raised its forecast for Russian exports to 48.6 million metric tons in the 2023/24 season from 48.1 million previously.

Continued Ukrainian grain shipments have also allayed concerns about supplies, despite the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal and repeated Russian attacks on Ukrainian grain terminals, including early Wednesday.

(Reporting by Jos Trombez in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Subranshu Sahu and Alison Williams)