Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell 2.4 percent to a two-week low on Wednesday in reaction to technical selling, a stronger US dollar and lacklustre exports of US grain, traders said. Soyabeans fell on chart-based selling and monthly data showing a slower-than-expected US soyabean crushing pace. Corn was pulled down by soya and wheat in thin trading, along with favourable US planting weather, but the lead July contract was underpinned by strong cash markets.
At the CBOT, benchmark July wheat settled down 17 cents at $6.93-3/4 per bushel, with sales accelerating as the contract fell below $7. July soyabeans ended down 2 cents at $14.12-3/4 a bushel but pared losses after trading low as $14.02-1/4. July corn settled down 1-3/4 cents at $6.50-3/4 a bushel.
Wheat came under pressure as the dollar rose to a six-week high versus the euro on evidence that Europe was stuck in recession. A stronger dollar makes US wheat less competitive on the world market. "US soft red winter wheat remains fairly competitive, but US exports have been beaten down due to a pickup in shipments from India, and also Southeast Asian millers seeking Australian wheat," said Terry Reilly, analyst with Futures International in Chicago.
Also bearish were forecasts showing a higher probability of rain in the Black Sea region. "Dryness concerns for the former Soviet Union are easing somewhat, with better chances of rain for both the Ukraine and Russia over the next two weeks," FCStone said in a daily note. Soyabean futures were pressured by monthly data from the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) showing a bigger-than-expected slowdown in the US soyabean crushing pace.
NOPA reported the soyabean crush fell to 120.11 million bushels in April, from 137.08 million in March. Analysts had expected a monthly crush of 125.5 million bushels, according to a Reuters poll, as processors slowed output due to tight supplies of old-crop soyabeans. Technical selling played a role as well. July soyabeans briefly dipped to $14.02-1/4, falling through support at the contract's 100-day moving average of $14.05. In global news, an official Chinese think-tank forecast that China, the world's top soya buyer, would import a record 66 million tonnes of the oilseed in 2013/14, up 11.9 percent from 2012/13.