What follows are opening calls for U.S. grain and oilseed markets. -- Corn futures are called to open 1 cent to 3 cents a bushel higher on the Chicago Board of Trade on speculation that hail and wind storms in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa overnight and dry weather in parts of the eastern Midwest will erode prospects for crops, Brian Grete, a senior market analyst at the Professional Farmers of American newsletter in Cedar Falls, Iowa, said in a telephone interview. -- Soybean futures may open 2 cents to 4 cents a bushel higher in Chicago on concern that dry Midwest weather will reduce yields, Grete said. Soybean-oil futures are expected to open steady to up 0.1 cent a pound, and soybean-meal futures may open steady to $1 higher for 2,000 pounds. The dollar’s drop may boost investor demand for commodities as a hedge against inflation, he said. -- Wheat futures may open 1 cent to 3 cents a bushel higher on the CBOT, the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange on a forecast that Australia’s output will shrink, Grete said. Drought threatens to delay or prevent planting in the U.S. Great Plains in the next two months, he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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