Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell for a third straight session on Tuesday and neared a two-week low under pressure from U.S. harvesting and technical selling, analysts said.
Wheat futures also eased, while soybeans and soymeal jumped.
A quick harvest pace for U.S. corn and soy is expected to continue until the next round of heavier rains are forecast to move across the Corn Belt later this week.
Farmers had harvested 76 per cent of their soybean crop and 59 per cent of their corn by Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said after trading ended on Monday. The figures, roughly in line with trade expectations, were ahead of the five-year average pace for each crop.
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Most-active corn futures closed 6-1/4 cents lower at $4.84 a bushel and touched their lowest price since Oct. 12 at $4.82-3/4.
Technical selling weighed on prices after the market quickly pulled back from August highs above $5 a bushel on Friday, brokers said.
CBOT December wheat dropped 6-3/4 cents to end at $5.80-1/2 a bushel and set its lowest price since Oct. 18.
November soybeans settled up 8-1/2 cents at $12.95-1/4 a bushel after falling earlier to its lowest price since Oct. 16. A rally to March highs in soymeal futures helped boost soybeans, traders said.
Soymeal exporter Argentina will likely run out of soybeans to crush in November, ADM CEO Juan Luciano said.
In the U.S., spot basis offers for soymeal were buoyed by strong export demand that has prompted domestic users to pay more to cover their needs, dealers said.
Traders will look for USDA to confirm U.S. soybean export sales in the coming days, after an industry group said a Chinese delegation of commodity importers signed agreements to buy billions of dollars’ worth of agricultural goods.
— Reporting for Reuters by Tom Polansek in Chicago; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
