ABC News Today

* Soybean prices fall after the People’s Bank of China cuts interest rates

* Forecasts for improved crop weather this week add pressure

* Cereals were weighted by the improving outlook for Ukrainian exports

CHICAGO, Aug 15 (Reuters) – Chicago soybeans fell on Monday, pressured by forecasts of beneficial rains in parts of the U.S. Midwest and unexpected data from China suggesting a decline in demand for U.S. farm products of the country.

The People’s Bank of China cut key interest rates on weaker-than-expected economic data from the world’s second-largest economy, raising fears of a global recession.

US weather forecasts for rain in the coming weeks could help parched soybean crops, adding pressure to markets.

Corn and wheat prices continued to decline.

The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 42 cents to $14.12-1/4 a bushel, after falling to $13.86 earlier in the session, its lowest since March 4. august

The most active CBOT corn contract fell 14 cents to $6.28-1/4 a bushel, while CBOT wheat lost 4-3/4 cents to $8.17-3/4 a bushel .

A contraction in the economy of China, the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, could dampen demand for U.S. commodities, said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at StoneX.

“China has rejected their demand,” he said. “I don’t think it’s as poor as they indicate.”

Meanwhile, US exporters prepared 744,571 tonnes of soybeans for inspection in the week ending August 11, down 14.55% from the previous week, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Corn export inspections were down 3.1 percent and wheat exports fell 41.29 percent, the USDA said.

Corn and wheat futures were also pressured by fears of cuts in China, although recent heat in the U.S. Midwest may have reduced corn crop yields.

“There’s some rain in the drier parts of the Corn Belt. In corn, it’s probably too late to do anything, but certainly some rain would be helpful for bean yield,” he said. said Chuck Shelby, president of Risk Management Commodities.

U.S. corn crop conditions beat analysts’ consensus expectation of 53%, with the USDA rating 57% of the crop as good to excellent as of Aug. 14 . estimates, while spring wheat was pegged at 64% good to excellent, a percentage point higher than estimates. (Reporting by Christopher Walljasper Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt Editing by Mark Potter and Richard Chang)