Wheat, soybeans steady-down 2 cents; corn mixed

CHICAGO: Following are US trade expectations for the opening of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade at 8:30 a.m. CDT (1330 GMT) on Thursday.

WHEAT - Steady to down 2 cents per bushel

* Weak export demand for US supplies pressures wheat market. Some profit-taking adds further pressure after most-active Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract hit highest in more than five weeks on Wednesday.

* Wheat supported by concerns about dry weather in key global production areas such as Ukraine, Australia and Argentina.

* Technical buying for benchmark CBOT December soft red winter wheat noted after contract fell five-day and 50-day moving averages during overnight trading session.

* The US Agriculture Department on Thursday morning said that weekly export sales of wheat totaled 286,600 tonnes, below trade forecasts for 300,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes.

* CBOT December soft red winter wheat last traded unchanged at $4.89-1/2 a bushel.

* K.C. December hard red winter wheat was last down 3/4 cent at $4.09 a bushel. MGEX December spring wheat gained 1 cent to $5.14-1/4 a bushel overnight.

CORN - Mixed up 2 cents to down 2 cents per bushel

* Corn futures steadied late in overnight trading, with market supported by signs of strong export demand but good weather for crops in US Midwest limiting buying opportunities.

* CBOT December corn futures hit technical resistance at 30-day moving average overnight. The contract also failed to break through that point on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

* USDA reported weekly corn export sales at 1.530 million tonnes. Trade estimates had ranged from 900,000 tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes.

* CBOT December corn last traded unchanged at $3.71-1/4 per bushel.

SOYBEANS - Steady to down 2 cents per bushel

* Traders say market under pressure from good September weather that has improved yield prospects for Midwest soybean crop. But strong export demand lends support and is expected to limit declines.

* Most-active soybean futures fell to one-week low during overnight trading.

* Benchmark CBOT November soybean futures contract found technical support overnight at 100-day moving average.

* Weekly export sales of soybeans totaled 1.728 million tonnes, USDA said. Traders had pegged soybean export sales between 700,000 tonnes and 1.1 million tonnes.

* CBOT November soybeans ended overnight trading flat at $8.88-3/4 per bushel.