US corn and soyabean futures fell to within a few cents of contract lows on Monday on strong US crop prospects and on concerns that trade fights with key export partners would curb export demand. Wheat also fell as rising supplies from the US winter crop harvest overshadowed worries about weather-reduced crops in France and Russia.
Fund selling weighed on grain markets in general, along with a stronger dollar which makes US shipments less competitive in global markets.
Chicago Board of Trade September corn futures fell 9 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $3.50-1/2 a bushel by 11:31 a.m. CDT (1631 GMT), while CBOT August soyabeans were down 1-1/2 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $8.62 a bushel. Both fell to within a few cents of contract lows posted on June 19.
Grains markets are monitoring news on trade tensions with China, the world's top soyabean importer. Beijing is set to raise import tariffs on US soyabeans on Friday to a level that is expected to diminish Chinese demand for US shipments.
The trade tensions come amid strong production prospects for the US corn and soyabean harvest this autumn following generally good early-season crop weather.
Wheat futures shrugged off a bullish French wheat crop forecast from analyst Strategie Grains and concerns about weather damage to Russia's crop. CBOT September wheat was down 11-3/4 cents, or 2.3 percent, at $4.89-1/2 a bushel.
Strategie Grains sparked a rally on Friday when it cut its French soft wheat production estimate by more than 4 million tonnes to 33.2 million in an update to clients.
Confirming the estimate, it said on Monday that a field tour had shown problems with crop density and grain development, thought to be linked to heavy rain in winter and late spring.