Is India staring at below-average monsoon? US-based forecaster says so

Indian monsoon rains, which occur from June to September, were 95 per cent of the long-term average last year compared with the IMD's forecast of 98 per cent.

India’s monsoon rains are expected to be slightly below normal this year, while parts of Australia’s eastern grain belt could be drier as an El Nino weather pattern may develop in the second half of 2018, a private US-based weather forecaster said.

Drought-hit Argentina is expected to receive rains in eastern parts of the country over the next two weeks but it will be too late to revive the soybean crop, Kyle Tapley, senior agricultural meteorologist at Radiant Solutions, formerly MDA Earthsat, said on the sidelines of an industry event.

“La Nina is weakening and we are moving towards neutral