PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago soybeans slid for a second session on Monday to a new three-week low, under pressure from a steep decline in Chinese prices and a rallying dollar.
Wheat fell for a fourth consecutive session as the stronger dollar clouded export prospects while increased grain sowing in Russia reinforced an outlook for ample global supplies.
Corn prices also dropped.
"Soybeans have seen a bit of pressure and I think some of the decline has got to do with the weakness in Chinese soybean markets," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.
"China's domestic soybean market has come off. They have been buying a lot of US beans, but that demand can't be unlimited."
Chinese soybean futures tumbled 5 percent on Monday, extending a decline that started in evening trade on Friday on talk of government measures to crack down on speculation.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, the most-active soybean contract had fallen 0.9 percent to $9.77-1/2 a bushel by 1309 GMT. It earlier dropped to $9.75-1/2, a setting a low since Oct. 21 for the second session in a row.
Corn lost 0.8 percent to $3.37-1/2 a bushel and wheat slid 1.2 percent to $3.98 a bushel.
US grain prices were also pressured by a jump in the dollar, which reached an 11-month high against a basket of major currencies as investors reacted to higher US bond yields and increased inflation expectations following Donald Trump's US election win last week.
A strong dollar makes commodities priced in the US currency less attractive to holders of other currencies, including physical importers.
The pace of US soybean shipments is lagging behind previous years, despite a US Department of Agriculture forecast for record exports, analysts said.
Soybeans and corn are also being curbed by raised official estimates for a record US harvest.
The wheat market, which is already expected to have record global inventories at the end of the season, was also eyeing the possibility of another big Russian wheat crop next year.
Russian farmers have sown the largest grain area of the last seven years and could add more in the coming weeks, analysts said last week.
"Apart from the increased acreage, the gratifyingly good condition of plants points to a good crop," Commerzbank analysts said of Russian wheat, adding that weather in the months ahead would be decisive for harvest prospects.
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