Rains in Argentina's central Pampas grains belt will improve soil moisture and allow producers to advance with plantings of soybeans and corn, which had been delayed due to dry weather, agricultural analysts told Reuters on Tuesday. While most of the country's main soy and corn areas received rain this weekend, they were strongest in Santa Fe province, with some areas receiving as much as 100 millimeters (3.94 inches), according to the Rosario grains exchange (BCR).

"We saw a reinforcement of moisture in the core zone, which is good for the crop," said Germ?n Heinzenknecht, a specialist with Applied Climatology Consultants. While rains in Argentina's largest grains producing province of Buenos Aires were lighter at around 10 millimeters, that helped alleviate the effects of a week of high temperatures, said Marina Barletta, an analyst at the BCR.

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