CHICAGO: US soybean futures fell on Wednesday, pressured by favorable crop weather and profit-taking after a five-session advance that was driven by resurgent export demand, analysts said.
Corn futures firmed, gaining against soy ahead of a key US government crop report due Friday, while wheat futures rose on hopes for fresh export business.
At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 12:40 p.m. CDT (1740 GMT), benchmark November soybeans were down 10 cents at $9.78 per bushel.
December corn was up 1-1/2 cents at $3.34 a bushel and September wheat was up 5-1/4 cents at $4.22-1/4 a bushel.
Soybeans fell on forecasts that added beneficial rains for the US Midwest this week and later in the month as the crop continues to set pods.
"It's all tied to weather. You've got big rains coming here over the weekend and another big rain a week out. That is perfect growing weather for beans," said Roy Huckabay with Linn & Associates, a Chicago brokerage.
Additional pressure stemmed from traders unwinding long soy/short corn spread positions. Soybeans have gained against corn in recent days in response to stepped-up export demand.
The US Department of Agriculture through its daily reporting system confirmed sales of US soybeans in each of the previous 10 trading sessions, although no new soy sales were reported on Wednesday.
"I think there have been some people (who were) long beans/short corn because of all the business going on," Huckabay said.
Corn futures firmed but remained rangebound as traders awaited the USDA's monthly supply/demand reports on Friday, including the government's first US corn and soy yield estimates based on field surveys.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the USDA to raise its forecast of the US 2016/17 yield from its current figure of 168.0 bushels per acre.
Front-month wheat futures hit a two-week high, gaining against back months on spreads. The contract drew support from a drop in recent days of the number of contracts registered for delivery against futures, often an indicator that cash markets are providing more lucrative returns.
Some traders believe the fact that the spot wheat contract dropped below $4 a bushel last week for the first time in nearly a decade may be enough to spark export interest.
"Gains in wheat are being amplified by short-covering, position rolling and some talk of fresh export demand," INTL FCStone chief commodities analyst Arlan Suderman said in a note to clients.
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