Grain and soybean futures fell sharply Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade amid expectations dry weather later this week will speed Midwest plantings and boost chances for another year of bumper crops. On other markets, pork futures tumbled, while energy prices retreated. The U.S. Agriculture Department, meeting market expectations, reported after trading had ended that 87 percent of corn acreage had been planted by last week, 5 percentage points above the five-year average. Some 44 percent of soybeans had been planted, 2 percent below the five-year average, while spring wheat was 9 percent below average, with 68 percent planted. With the National Weather Service and several private forecasters predicting dry, warm weather in major growing areas beginning about midweek and lasting through the weekend, analysts expect farmers will speed their pace of planting even further. Investors are worried about bumper crops adding to already ample inventories, despite a somewhat brighter in the export picture. Corn shipments, for instance, have beat market expectations for several weeks, but market participants continue to fret about new-crop supplies that will compete for business with other countries that have recently harvested bumper production. Wheat futures also were pressured by expectations for solid spring wheat plantings and amid early harvesting of the winter wheat crop, which accounts for much of the nation's total. Wheat for July delivery fell 5 cents to $2.47 1/4 a bushel; July corn fell 6 3/4 cents to $2.11 3/4 a bushel; July oats fell 2 1/2 cents to $1.17 3/4 a bushel; July soybeans fell 6 3/4 cents to $4.55 a bushel, the lowest since February 1976. Pork futures fell sharply on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange after the government reported frozen pork inventories jumped to record levels last month. The USDA's monthly cold storage report indicated the meatpackers have ample supplies of ham and pork bellies, used for making bacon, and will need to slaughter fewer hogs during the peak summer demand period. Frozen pork inventories have jumped to 593.510 million pounds, surpassing the previous record of 583 million pounds set in April 1952. June lean hogs fell 2 cents to 54.90 cents a pound; July pork bellies fell 1.4 cents to 52.20 cents a pound. Crude oil futures retreated on the New York Mercantile Exchange after Iraqi officials said they would accept another round of U.N.-sponsored oil-for-aid exports, erasing fears a delay in shipments could drastically reduce world inventories. Iraq is operating under an embargo imposed after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait but is allowed to export 1.9 million barrels of oil, equal to $5.2 billion, over six months to buy food and medical supplies. Market participants had worried wrangling between Iraq and the United Nations could take weeks, effectively keep oil off the market at a time when other major oil producers are cutting back output. July crude fell 35 cents to $17.06 a barrel; June heating oil fell .56 cent to 39.99 cents a gallon; June unleaded gasoline fell 1.98 cents to 48.48 cents a gallon. -=-=- 