CHICAGO: Chicago corn futures fell about 1 percent on Tuesday on chart-based selling as the harvest of a large US crop loomed, traders said.
Wheat and soybeans followed the weak trend, declining in the absence of fresh supportive news.
"The biggest thing is, there isn't anything here for the bull. The path of least resistance is back to the downside," said Terry Linn, analyst with Linn & Associates.
As of 12:35 p.m. CDT (1735 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade December corn was down 4 cents at $3.47-1/2 per bushel after dipping to $3.46-1/2, its lowest in a week. The contract has faced stiff technical resistance at its 20-day moving average during the last two weeks.
CBOT December wheat was down 3-3/4 cents at $4.39-3/4 a bushel and November soybeans were down 5-1/4 cents at $9.62-1/2 a bushel.
Corn and wheat retreated from early advances as traders awaited reports from the expanding US corn harvest. The crop was 7 percent harvested by Sunday, the US Department of Agriculture said in a weekly report.
"I don't know that we are getting a lot of pressure from the standpoint of producers making sales, but we are seeing ideas this crop is bigger than expected, especially in corn," said Brian Hoops, analyst with Midwest Market Solutions.
The USDA said 34 percent of the corn crop was mature, well behind the five-year average of 47 percent. But forecasts showed no major weather problems that could threaten late-maturing fields.
"The weather is good for crops that haven't shut down. You've got favorable finishing conditions," Linn said.
Soybean futures fell after the USDA, for the first time in eight business days, failed to report fresh sales of US soybeans through its daily export reporting system.
Also bearish was the inability of the CBOT November soy contract to break through chart resistance and test its 200-day moving average near $9.79.
Plentiful global supplies kept a lid on the wheat market, despite worries about dry conditions in Australia and excessive rain in Argentina.
Futures had little reaction to news that Egypt's state grain buyer purchased 175,000 tonnes of Russian wheat in a tender. No US wheat was offered.
Egypt received offers from six suppliers, down from the roughly 15 that normally bid to the world's largest wheat buyer, as traders held back due to a dispute over two blocked import cargoes.
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