Forecasts for crop-boosting weather in key growing areas of the US Midwest pushed corn and soybean futures to multi-month lows on Thursday, traders said. Wheat futures also were sharply lower, their second straight day of steep declines, with investors continuing to push back against a sharp rally on Tuesday amid abundant global supplies.
Traders noted investment funds selling off long positions in all three commodities.
The latest weather outlook raised expectations for the US harvest of both corn and soybeans as the crop nears key development stages.
At 10:32 a.m. CDT (1532 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade July soybean futures were down 7-1/2 cents at $9.28-1/2 a bushel, on track for its eighth down day out of the last nine sessions.
Prices for the most-active soybean contract, bottomed out at their lowest since August 16.
Concerns about trade tensions with China, the largest buyer of the oilseed, have hung over the market throughout the bearish stretch.
CBOT July corn was down 10 cents at $3.66 a bushel. The most-active contract hit its lowest since February 9.
CBOT July soft red winter wheat futures were 13-1/2 cents lower at $5.03 a bushel.
US wheat prices had risen nearly 4 percent on Tuesday after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) cut its forecast for Russia's crop but lost most of those gains on Wednesday, with overall global supplies still seen as ample.