US grain futures fell Wednesday in tandem with other commodities as the dollar surged on concern about the lack of a solution to the eurozone debt crisis. Oil was down more than 3 percent and gold tumbled more than 5 percent as the dollar index rose 0.53 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average slumped 1 percent. "It's an outside market morning this morning, and justifiably so," INTL FCStone analyst Matt Zeller said in a research note to clients.
Traders also said US projections for abundant global grain supplies next year left corn, soybeans and wheat at the mercy of the swings of outside markets. Wheat led the decline with a loss of more than 2 percent. Soybeans and corn caught up dropping around 2 percent.
"There is just no reason for these markets to rally," said Karl Setzer, analyst with MaxYield Co-operative. At 10:35 am CST (1635 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures were down 21 cents to $10.95-1/2 a bushel. CBOT March corn fell 12-1/2 cents to $5.82 a bushel. The front-month December contract, which expires on Wednesday, was down 11-1/2 cents at $5.77-1/2 a bushel. CBOT March soft red winter wheat was 15-1/2 cents lower at $5.85 a bushel. Expiring December had dropped 1-3/4 cents to $5.90 a bushel.