* Wheat firms on U.S. weather forecasts
* Corn edges higher, soybeans firm
* USDA to report planting forecast later in the week
By Colin Packham
SYDNEY, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat rose nearly 0.5 percent on Tuesday, extending gains to more than 2 percent over two days, as prices lingered near two-week highs on concerns about adverse weather hitting yields in key growing areas.
Corn and soybeans also inched higher.
The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 rose 0.42 percent to $4.73 a bushel after closing up 1.7 percent on Monday when prices hit a high of $4.77-1/4 a bushel - the strongest since March 15.
Analysts said wheat was drawing support from concerns that weather in key U.S. growing regions could hit production.
There are forecasts of cold temperatures in some U.S. wheat areas and continued dry conditions in the southern Plains wheat belt.
The unfavourable weather forecasts have given fresh impetus to further short covering, analysts said.
"Investors more than likely have the view that U.S. wheat supply is heavy and will only get worse as we progress into 2016," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"We'd largely agree but the dodgy weather in the U.S. hard red wheat region has the potential to erase the worst part of that outlook," said Gorey.
A weekly Commodity Futures Trading Commission report last week showed large speculators expanded net short positions in CBOT wheat to 127,479 contracts in the week ended March 22.
The most active corn futures contract Cv1 rose 0.1 percent to $3.70-3/4 a bushel, having gained 0.14 percent in the previous session.
The most active soybean contract Sv1 rose 0.14 percent to $9.10-3/4 a bushel, having firmed 0.17 percent on Monday.
Traders noted some position squaring ahead of a U.S. Department of Agriculture report on spring planting intentions, scheduled for release on Thursday.
Analysts, on average, expected the USDA to report a jump in corn and soybean seedings over last year. The agency was also expected to estimate March 1 U.S. soybean stocks at their highest since 2007 and quarterly corn stocks at their highest since 1987.
Grains prices at 0221 GMT Contract
Last
Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI
CBOT wheat
473.00
2.00 +0.42%
+2.16%
464.88 62 CBOT corn
370.75
0.25 +0.07%
+0.20%
365.21 63 CBOT soy
910.25
1.25 +0.14%
-0.03%
886.57 73 CBOT rice
$10.23
$0.04 +0.39%
-0.34%
$10.61 39 WTI crude
$39.23 -$0.16 -0.41%
-0.58%
$35.82 56 Currencies
Euro/dlr
$1.119 $0.000 +0.01%
+0.28% USD/AUD
0.755
0.001 +0.12%
+0.63% Most active contracts Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight RSI 14, exponential