US judge throws out farmer suit vs Australia's AWB

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit against wheat exporter AWB Ltd (AWB.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) that accused the Australian company of acting improperly under the United Nations oil-for-food program to depress wheat prices in the United States.

In a decision late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch, dismissed the suit filed by U.S. wheat farmers, saying the farmers had not shown they were hurt directly by AWB's alleged wrongdoing.

AWB had exported wheat to Iraq under the oil-for-food program and the U.S. wheat farmers alleged that the company had tried to create a monopoly over Iraq wheat, violating U.S. antitrust and racketeering laws.

Noting that the wheat farmers had not sold wheat in Iraq, Lynch said a number of factors could have driven down wheat prices in the United States. (Reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Gary Hill)