Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures fell for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, setting a new eight-week low, as ample supply and progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine triggered selling by speculative investors.

Corn futures firmed on export demand, though pressure from the wheat market continued to weigh on prices. Cheaper wheat can compete with corn demand in feed markets, market analysts said.

Soybean futures ended lower for a fourth straight session, as traders adjusted some of their positions ahead of the holidays – despite news of China buying more soybeans, market analysts said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported sales of 323,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans for the 2025/26 marketing year – with 198,000 tons to China and 125,000 tons for “unknown destinations.” U.S. farmers and traders have closely watched China’s demand for American agricultural goods since President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping struck a trade truce in late October.

“The question we’re all wondering is, ‘What will China do when the political buying of U.S. soybeans ends?'” said Dan Basse, president of AgResource Co in Chicago. “Is the 12 million tons the cliff? Or will there be more?”

A partial recovery in crude oil prices also failed to lift soybeans, amid concern that China’s demand for U.S. crops could be capped. Brent crude LCOc1 fell below $60 a barrel this week for the first time since May, putting downward pressure on prices of biofuels and the feedstocks used to make them, including soy.

On Wednesday, the CBOT’s most-active corn contract Cv1 settled up 4 cents at $4.40-1/2 per bushel. Soybeans Sv1 ended down 4-1/2 cents at $10.58-1/4 per bushel, the lowest since October 23.

CBOT wheat Wv1 fell 3-1/4 cents to close at $5.06-1/4 per bushel. Earlier, the contract declined to $5.04 a bushel during the session – its lowest level since October 23.

Exporters cancelled sales of 132,000 metric tons of U.S. white wheat to China, the USDA said on Wednesday. While the news was seen as bearish, traders said the cancellation did not significantly impact the global supply balance sheet, as world supplies were ample.

Southern Hemisphere producers are pouring wheat into an already well-supplied market. The Rosario Grains Exchange last week raised its production estimate for Argentina to a record-high 27.7 million metric tons, and Australia is on track for its third-biggest harvest.

-Additional reporting by Peter Hobson in Canberra and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.

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The CDC had previously confirmed four cases and a fifth presumptive positive case of bird flu among Colorado farm workers who were killing and disposing of chickens that had contracted the virus.

Four other farm workers have contracted avian flu this year from infected dairy cows in Michigan, Texas and Colorado.

The risk to the general public from bird flu remains low, Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, said on a call with reporters.

When workers were killing the infected chickens, it was 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) in Colorado, and strong industrial fans made it hard for workers to keep protective gear on their faces, Shah said.

“PPE use was not optimal, particularly the masks and eye protection,” Shah said, referring to personal protective equipment.

Initial analysis of the virus does not show concerning changes to the virus making it easier to spread among people, Shah said.

The CDC is not recommending that livestock workers be vaccinated against bird flu, Shah added.

The infected chicken farm is in a county where cows have tested positive for bird flu, Eric Deeble, an official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said on the press call.

More than 150 dairy herds across 13 states have been infected with the virus since March, according to the USDA.

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