US soyabeans and corn turned lower on Friday as a jump in the dollar on strong employment data spurred technical selling in the grains, traders said. Additionally, forecasts of record soyabean production in South America and a large corn harvest continue to overhang prices. Wheat was waffling by Friday's midsession, underpinned by a pickup in global demand this week after prices fell to four-month lows and a deterioration in the dormant US winter wheat crop after a dry January.
Traders said the grain markets were marking time between generally favourable crop conditions in South America and the start of the Northern Hemisphere growing season. They also were waiting for the US Department of Agriculture to update their world and domestic crop supply and demand forecasts on Tuesday. "With that lull, we are more sensitive to the outside volatility in the crude oil and dollar markets. That's certainly true this week," said Rich Feltes, vice president of commodity research at brokerage R.J. O'Brien.
Chicago Board of Trade March soyabeans was down 5-3/4 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $9.75-1/2. CBOT March corn was down 3 cents, or 0.8 percent at $3.82-1/4. March wheat was steady at $5.25-3/4 a bushel and on course for its first weekly rise in six weeks as hopes of an export breakthrough in Egypt underpinned prices. Egypt could hold tenders for US wheat in order to make use of a $100 million credit line from the United States, the country's supplies minister said on Thursday.