OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2015. Chicago wheat futures recovered from a near one-week low on Monday to hold above \\$5, helped by an easing dollar and concerns about dry conditions in the U.S. wheat belt.

Corn and soybeans both slipped to six-week lows under pressure from large global supplies and the earlier high for the dollar, before trimming their losses like wheat.

Chicago Board of Trade May wheat futures edged down 0.35 percent to \\$5.00-1/4 a bushel by 1144 GMT, having hit a session low of \\$4.93 a bushel, its lowest since March 10.

Wheat already fell 1 percent on Friday, corn 2.1 percent and soybeans 1.7 percent when a dollar rally hit commodity prices and clouded U.S. grain export prospects in a well supplied world market.

Persistent weakness in the euro helped the dollar index stretch to a 12-year high of 100.420 in early trade, before it eased back below the 100 mark.

Analysts said concerns over dry weather in the U.S. Plains limited the downside, even if some showers are expected in the week ahead.

"Weather forecasters are looking for a rainfall event this week but the amount of rainfall may be well short of alleviating the issue," said Tobin Gorey, director, agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Dry conditions have added to concerns about the health of some U.S. hard red winter wheat crops as they emerge from dormancy following a severe winter.

"Showers are likely in the Southern Plains wheat belt this week to aid early growth in the drier areas, particularly Oklahoma," Commodity Weather Group said in a daily note.

"Central Plains wheat is not favored for showers until later next week, and confidence is limited."

CBOT May corn fell 0.5 percent to \\$3.78-1/2 a bushel, having hit a session low of \\$3.77-3/4 a bushel, the lowest since February 2.

May soybeans fell 0.1 percent to \\$9.73 a bushel, having hit a session low of \\$9.67-1/2 a bushel, the lowest since February 3.

Soybeans were also anchored by expectations for rising global soy inventories as the South American harvest progresses, although flooding in part of Argentina could delay field work and trim overall production.

Flooding in the northern part of Argentina's farm belt will reduce the 2014/15 soybean crop by 1 million to 2.5 million tonnes.