Grains mixed Thursday

Grain futures closed mixed Thursday with traders keeping an eye on Argentina's weather forecasts, which say beneficial rain is possible for the next two weeks. Corn was off 3 3/4 to up 31 1/2 to up 3 3/4, soybeans were off 1 3/4 to off 3, wheat was off 6 1/4 to off 7 1/2 and oats were unchanged to up 3. Corn was held in check by weather expectations in Argentina although a report pegged ethanol stockpiles slightly down for the week, off 1.4 percent to 20.1 million barrels. Wheat dropped modestly. With a lack of directly relevant news, wheat prices were at the mercy of the mood in the broader market. Soybean futures posted double-digit losses early, but recovered most of the early losses on bullish export news. The prices: Corn: Mar 7.241/4 up 3 3/4, May 7.24 1/4 up 1 1/2, Jly 7.15 1/4 off 1 3/4, Sep 6.08 1/4 off 3 3/4. Soybeans: Mar 14.35 1/4 off 1 3/4, May 14.23 3/4 off 3, Jly 14.17 1/2 off 2 1/4, Aug 13.92 1/2 off 2. Wheat: Mar 7.79 1/4 off 6 1/4, May 7.88 1/2 off 6 3/4, Jly 7.93 1/4 off 6 1/2, Sep 7.92 1/2 off 7 1/2. Oats: Mar 3.61 up 1 1/4, May 3.67 3/4 unchanged, Jly 3.73 1/2 up 2, Sep 3.73 3/4 up 3.