CBOT Trends-Corn down 1-2 cents, soy steady to down 2 cents, wheat mixed

• CBOT March soft red winter wheat last traded up 1-1/4 cents at $5.48-3/4 per bushel.
• Corn futures setting back from Wednesday's gains but market seen stuck in recent trading range.
• Weekly corn export sales were 968,900 tonnes, in line with trade estimates that ranged from 700,000 tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes.

CHICAGO: Following are US trade expectations for the opening of grain and soy complex trading at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) at 8:30 a.m. CST (1430 GMT) on Thursday.

WHEAT - Mixed, up 2 cents to down 2 cents per bushel.

CBOT soft red winter wheat (SRW) mixed, with front month March contract seen slightly higher on follow-through buying from Wednesday's rally.

Deferred SRW contracts, K.C. hard red winter wheat contracts and MGEX spring wheat contracts all on track for a lower open on concerns about global export competition.

The US Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that export sales of wheat totaled 687,100 tonnes in the week ended Feb. 6, near the high end of market forecasts that ranged from 300,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes.

CBOT March soft red winter wheat last traded up 1-1/4 cents at $5.48-3/4 per bushel. K.C. March hard red winter wheat was last down 1-1/2 cents at $4.69-1/2 a bushel and MGEX March spring wheat was last 2-1/4 cents lower at $5.29 a bushel.

CORN - Down 1 cent to 2 cents per bushel.

Corn futures setting back from Wednesday's gains but market seen stuck in recent trading range.

Benchmark CBOT March contract rebounded from overnight lows after it dipped below its 10-day moving average.

Weekly corn export sales were 968,900 tonnes, in line with trade estimates that ranged from 700,000 tonnes to 1.3 million tonnes.

CBOT March corn last traded down 1-3/4 cents at $3.81-1/4 per bushel.

SOYBEANS - Steady to down 2 cents per bushel.

Soybean futures consolidating after eight straight days of gains pushed the most-active contract to a two-week top. Investors taking some risk out of the market on concerns about the spread of coronavirus in China damaging the economy of the world's top soybean buyer.

The USDA said soybean export sales were 651,100 tonnes in the latest week, near the low end of analysts' forecasts that ranged from 600,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes.

CBOT March soybeans hit technical resistance at its 10-day moving overnight.

CBOT March soybeans last traded down 3/4 cent at $8.91-3/4 per bushel.