Cereal prices fall as drought fears ease

Cereal prices were lower on Tuesday as fears over a severe drought in the Northern Hemisphere, which had forced prices sharply higher, eased, traders said.

"The prospect of a severe dry spell has eased with forecasts for rain in US and West European growing regions," one trader said.

"At the same time, the harvest is progressing well," he added.

In the United States, this year's harvest was 69-percent complete as of Sunday, up from 63 percent a week earlier.

In France, the biggest cereals producer in the European Union, the harvest is also going well, with yields not so bad as feared, but concerns remain over Russian and East European production.

In mid-day trading, corn was slightly lower while maize slipped by between two and 4.50 euros in thin trading.

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