US corn and soyabean futures eased on Wednesday after better-than-expected rains fell in the Midwest crop belt, prompting investors to take profits after recent highs, analysts said. Wheat futures also fell, pressured by the expanding US winter wheat harvest and plentiful global stocks. At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 11:56 a.m. CDT (1656 GMT), soyabeans for July delivery were down 11-3/4 cents at $11.57-3/4 per bushel. July corn was down 4 cents at $4.32-1/2 a bushel and July wheat was down 3-1/4 cents at $4.81-3/4 a bushel.
Spot corn futures hit a two-year high last week and spot soyabeans set a 22-month top, buoyed by improved export prospects due to problems with South American crops and a hot spell in the Corn Belt. Showers on Tuesday and Wednesday brought relief to areas where soil moisture has been waning in the heat, and more rain was expected in the north-west Midwest this weekend.
Soyabeans pared losses after the National Oilseed Processors Association in a monthly report said its members crushed 152.8 million bushels of soyabeans in May, more than analysts expected and the most on record for the month. CBOT wheat was on track for a fifth straight daily decline, anchored by good yields in early US harvesting and a backdrop of hefty global supplies.
The market drew underlying support from expectations of increased use of wheat as livestock feed, potentially replacing corn in some areas. The premium for spot CBOT wheat over CBOT corn has fallen below 50 cents a bushel for the first time in nearly three years, reflecting huge domestic and world wheat supplies, coupled with tightening US corn stocks. Investors were also adjusting positions in the run-up to a Federal Reserve policy statement at 1800 GMT. Global equity markets rose while the US dollar slipped as investors expected no change in US interest rates.