PARIS/BEIJING: Chicago corn and soy futures edged lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session, as wetter weather in South America raised prospects of higher production. Wheat also slipped after two straight sessions of gains.

“Weather forecasters’ greater confidence in a wetter weather tack for currently dry areas of Paraguay and adjacent Brazil weighed on the market,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at the Commonwealth bank of Australia.

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.3% at $5.83-1/2 a bushel, by 1145 GMT, while soybeans lost less than 0.2% to $12.42 a bushel.

US soybean processors continued their strong crushing pace in November, aided by ample supplies of beans and good processing margins, according to analysts polled ahead of a monthly National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) report due on Wednesday.

NOPA members, which handle about 95% of all soybeans processed in the United States, were estimated to have crushed 181.640 million bushels of soybeans last month, according to the average of estimates from 12 analysts.

The most-active wheat contract declined 0.4% to $7.86 a bushel, following losses of over 2% last week after the US Department of Agriculture raised its global wheat ending stocks view with improved production outlooks for Australia, Russia and Canada.

The EU’s crop monitoring service MARS said on Tuesday most grain crops in the European Union have continued to benefit from favourable weather in the past month, although a lack of hardiness could leave some plants vulnerable to frost.