CHICAGO: US grain prices fell on Thursday amid a broad-based commodity selloff and a firming dollar, a day after the US Federal Reserve signaled it was ready to slow down the pace of bond purchases.
The Fed news sent shock waves across all the financial markets. Wall Street stocks fell more than 2 percent, US crude oil fell more than $3 a barrel and gold prices tumbled to their lowest levels in more than 2-1/2 years.
Additional pressure on grains stemmed from economic data from China, the flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, which hinted at weakening in the world's second-largest economy.
"The Chinese PMI came in at 48.3 according to HSBC, and that is down almost one point from the month before. It was expected to be down only 0.10 of a point," Sterling Smith, futures specialist with Citigroup in Chicago, said in a daily note.
China is the world's biggest buyer of soybeans, making the oilseed market particularly sensitive to news about the country's economic health.
At the Chicago Board of Trade, July corn ended down 9 cents at $6.73-1/4 per bushel, halting a four-day rally. New-crop December corn fell 10 cents at $5.60-1/2.
July soybeans declined 25-1/2 cents to $14.97-1/2 per bushel, settling below $15 for the first time since May 30. New-crop November ended down 25-3/4 cents at $12.85.
July wheat settled down 6-1/2 cents at $7.00-1/2 a bushel.
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