Soybean futures on the Chicago Board of Trade were lower early on Friday, under pressure from a stronger dollar and expectations of large South American soy harvests, traders said. As of 9:35 am CST (1535 GMT), CBOT March soybeans were down 8 cents at $9.40 per bushel.
Despite the weaker tone, an upturn in crude oil prices was lending underlying support to the soy market March wheat down 1/4 cent at $4.84-3/4 per bushel. USDA reported export sales of US wheat in the latest week at 463,400 tonnes, above estimates for 350,000 to 450,000 tonnes.
USDA at its annual outlook forum projected US 2010/2011 wheat ending stocks at 940 million bushels, down from 981 million in 2009/10. March corn up 3/4 cent at $3.58 per bushel. Turning up as short-covering helps mitigate pressure from the firmer dollar and plentiful global supply of feed grains. Export sales data viewed supportive.