NAPERVILLE, Illinois, April 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture at the end of March pegged 2024 U.S. corn plantings well below market expectations and estimated on-hand corn stocks to be thinner than analysts thought.

Chicago corn futures rallied in response to the data, which in theory could have been the catalyst that pulls speculators out of huge short bets. But corn bulls now must wait for a potential U.S. or Brazilian weather story to unfold since the latest USDA data did not flip market sentiment.

In the week ended April 2, money managers slightly extended their net short position in CBOT corn futures and options to 259,556 contracts from 251,730 a week earlier. New shorts and exiting longs both played roles.

Most-active May corn fell 1.4% in the four-day trading week ended April 2. New-crop December futures were unchanged in the week but with a bigger upside, as the contract was up as much as 2.8% and down as much as 1.5% in the period.

USDA’s survey published on March 28 showed U.S. farmers will plant 1.74 million fewer corn acres than the trade predicted, which using the agency’s 2024 trend yield of 181 bushels per acre, is worth about 315 million bushels of production, or roughly 15% of the expected 2023-24 carryout.

But recent market action implies traders are not concerned over a loss of that size, as U.S. corn supplies would still be plentiful heading into 2024-25, which starts Sept. 1.

USDA’s March 28 data was neutral-to-bearish for soybeans, and most-active CBOT futures slipped 2% in the week ended April 2. Money managers broke their three-week bean buying streak, raising their net short to 138,256 CBOT soybean futures and options contracts from 134,780 in the prior week.

CBOT soybean oil futures continue edging higher along with crude oil and other global vegoils like palm oil, and speculators have been net buyers of bean oil in the last four weeks, the longest such streak since June-July 2023.

Through April 2, money managers increased their net long to 8,383 CBOT soyoil futures and options contracts from 951 a week earlier, establishing their most bullish oil view since October.

But they dialed up pessimism in CBOT soybean meal, pushing their net short to 42,892 futures and options contracts from 29,789 in the prior week. Meal futures were the biggest loser in the week ended April 2, shedding 3.4%.

CBOT wheat futures were little changed during that week and so were fund views. Money managers’ net short in CBOT wheat futures and options stood at 91,944 contracts as of April 2, up 158 on the week.

Most-active CBOT grain and oilseed futures rose over the last three sessions, and the gains are as follows: corn 1.8%, soybeans 0.9%, wheat 4.0%, soymeal 1.5% and soyoil 0.6%. Wheat’s one-month high on Friday came amid concerns top exporter Russia may be curbing some shipments.

Traders this week will be watching for USDA’s monthly supply and demand report, due on Thursday at noon EDT (1600 GMT). In addition to U.S. tweaks following the March 28 reports, analysts are looking for slightly larger Argentine corn and soy crops but notably lower ones in Brazil, where weather has caused some issues. Karen Braun is a market analyst for Reuters. Views expressed above are her own.

(Editing by Marguerita Choy)