By Jae Hur March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans rose for the first time in four days in Chicago as a weaker dollar boosted demand for U.S. supplies and raised the oilseed’s investment appeal. Corn also gained. The dollar fell from a 10-month high against the euro after European leaders agreed on an aid plan for Greece, reducing concern that the nation’s debt crisis might spread and bolstering the single European currency. A declining dollar makes U.S. crops cheaper in terms of other monies. “The dollar’s drop prompted investors to unwind bets on a price decline before the weekend,” said Takaki Shigemoto, an analyst at research and investment company JSC Corp., today. Soybeans for May delivery gained 0.5 percent to $9.4675 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade at 11:38 a.m. Paris time, paring an advance of as much as 0.8 percent. The contract has declined 1.6 percent this week on forecasts for increased planting in the U.S. and record harvests from South America. U.S. farmers will plant 89.25 million acres of corn and 75.65 million acres of soybeans, according to crop forecaster Lanworth Inc. The combined soybean harvest this year in Brazil and Argentina, the two biggest exporters after the U.S., will jump 35 percent, boosting global stockpiles 44 percent to the second- highest level ever before the U.S. harvest begins, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated. Corn, Wheat Corn for May delivery rose 0.4 percent to $3.565 a bushel. The contract has declined 4.9 percent this week, on course for the biggest drop since the week ended Jan. 15. Wheat for May delivery was little changed at $4.6625 a bushel. The grain has dropped 3.6 percent this week, heading for a fourth straight weekly loss. China, the biggest grain user, faces a test meeting a crop- output target of 500 million metric tons because of drought in its southwest and a cold winter in the north, Xinhua News Agency said, citing Premier Wen Jiabao. The nation’s wheat output may decline, Wen was cited as saying. The grain market generally believes that China has a “very good” quantity of wheat stockpiles, which may be used to offset any possible reduction in this year’s crop, said Jay O’Neil, an adviser to the U.S. Grains Council. China maintains grain stockpiles of 150 million to 200 million tons, equivalent to about 40 percent of its annual demand, China Grain Reserves Corp. President Bao Kexin said March 6. Milling wheat for May delivery traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris was unchanged at 125.50 euros ($168.03) a ton. To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net

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