US wheat and corn futures each fell as much as 1 percent on Friday, reversing from earlier gains in a technical selloff as the dollar rallied against a basket of global currencies. Soyabean futures also edged lower in overall thin volumes at the Chicago Board of Trade as investors exited positions ahead of the three-day weekend for Monday's US Memorial Day holiday. All three contracts were headed for weekly losses. Soyabeans were on pace to decline for the second straight week and were hovering near seven-month lows on forecasts for record-large global supplies.
"Commodities in general are breaking with the dollar index jumping to 96. That's discouraging longs from getting into the market ahead of the long weekend," said Mike Zuzolo, analyst at Global Commodities Analytics. Warmer temperatures forecast in the coming days in the US Midwest crop belt also were seen as favourable for developing corn and soyabean plants, even as heavy, drought-busting rainfall in the southern US Plains was expected to reduce quality and yields of hard red winter wheat.
CBOT July wheat was down 5-1/2 cents, or 1 percent, at $5.16-1/2 per bushel as of 10:00 am CDT (1500 GMT), easing after earlier failing to surpass its one-month high of $5.30-1/4 from Monday. The contract also continued to hit resistance at its 100-day moving average. CBOT July corn eased 3-1/2 cents to $3.61-1/2 while CBOT July soyabeans were down 4-1/2 cents to $9.34. Soyameal futures were higher, lifted by the threat of a supply squeeze in Argentina, the world's leading supplier of soyameal and soyaoil. Argentina's largest labour union group will go ahead with a strike in the pivotal Rosario grains hub from June 1 if a salary dispute is not resolved.