CHICAGO: US soybean futures fell for the third straight day on Thursday, dropping 1.6 percent to their lowest level in nearly a month due to a new cancellation of an export deal with China, the world's top buyer of the oilseed, traders said.
Corn futures were 1.6 percent lower, falling below $7 and hitting their lowest level in nearly six months as demand continued to weaken. Wheat also fell its lowest level since July as a major winter storm hit the US Plains and provided some relief to key growing areas of the drought-stricken region.
Year-end liquidation added further pressure to all three commodities as investors pulled money out of the markets before the holidays, a time when trading volume is traditionally the lightest of the year.
Private exporters reported the cancellation of 540,000 tonnes of US soybeans sold to China for delivery during the 2012/13 marketing year, the US Agriculture Department on Thursday morning.
Earlier this week, China scuttled plans to buy 300,000 tonnes of US soybeans. USDA also said private exporters reported the cancellation of a separate 120,000-tonne deal, which traders said was likely destined for China.
China was likely cancelling US soybeans it had purchased as insurance in the event of a poor crop in South America, said Garrett Toay, risk management consultant at Toay Commodities Futures Group in Des Moines, Iowa.
"They could have overbooked here as protection," he said, "China is assuming there is nothing wrong with the Brazilian crop."
At 8:59 a.m. CST (1459 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures were down 23 cents at $14.14 a bushel. Prices bottomed out at $14.02-3/4 a bushel, their lowest level since Nov. 21.
CBOT March corn was off 10-1/2 cents at $6.92-1/2 a bushel, the third straight day of declines for the front-month contract, which it hits lowest level since July 2.
Corn futures have fallen for 10 out of the last 11 sessions, dropping 8.7 percent during that period, due to eroding demand from overseas buyers and ethanol producers.
USDA said on Thursday morning weekly export sales of corn were 120,200 tonnes, well below forecasts for 250,000 to 550,000 tonnes.
A forecast for the biggest US corn acreage since 1936 from closely watched private analytics firm Informa Economics also was weighing on prices.
"All the ingredients are there for profit-taking," Pierre-Antoine Allard of French grains consultancy Agritel said.
CBOT March wheat was off 17-1/4 cents at $7.88-1/2 a bushel. Prices hit their lowest level since July 3.
The first heavy winter storm of the season hit the US Plains on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, bringing some much needed moisture to the region and providing some relief from the dry conditions that have been hampering winter wheat development in that key growing area.
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