Chicago Board of Trade corn and soyabean futures fell on Friday on signs of weakening demand for US exports as the South American harvest nears, traders said. Wheat futures were mixed, with K.C. hard red winter wheat hitting a 4-1/2 month high on concerns about crop damage from a cold snap in key growing areas as well as positioning ahead of expected fund purchases. CBOT wheat eased on profit taking.
Soyabeans notched the biggest decline, sinking 1.9 percent, while corn dropped 1.2 percent. The weekly export sales totals for both crops were marketing year lows. The US Agriculture Department said early Friday that weekly soyabean export sales fell to a lower-than-expected 87,700 tonnes in the latest week from 979,200 tonnes a week ago. Corn export sales of 429,300 tonnes also dropped below the low end of trade forecasts.
The market also was pricing in the possibility that a slowdown in the movement of soyabeans to US West Coast ports, due to wintry conditions, would cause China to cancel previously booked deals and buy from Brazil or Argentina instead, Schultz added. Record snow and rain pummelled the western United States on Thursday, raising the threat of floods and freezing temperatures in some areas. At 11:41 a.m. CST (1641 GMT), CBOT March soyabeans were down 18 cents at $9.94-1/2 a bushel. CBOT March corn was 4-1/2 cents lower at $3.56-3/4 a bushel.
CBOT March soft red winter wheat was 1-3/4 cents lower at $4.24-1/2 a bushel. K.C. March hard red winter wheat was up 1-1/2 cents at $4.36 a bushel after peaking at $4.38-3/4 a bushel, its highest since Aug. 23. For the week, soyabeans have fallen 1.0 percent and corn has risen 1.6 percent. CBOT SRW was up 4.2 percent. K.C. HRW was up 4.6 percent.
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