PARIS/SYDNEY: US soybeans turned slightly lower on Tuesday, easing from a near one-month high earlier in the session as harvest supplies capped an export-fuelled rally in the oilseed market.
Corn edged down, falling from a near three-week high touched on Monday, while wheat eased from a one-week high in the previous session after official crop ratings for US winter wheat were in line with expectations.
The most active soybean futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade earlier rose to $10.28-3/4 a bushel, the highest since Oct. 27, but later gave up their gains and by 1230 GMT were down 0.1 percent at $10.19 a bushel.
Brisk export activity has allowed the soybean market to withstand supply pressure as an expected record US harvest rolls in.
"The US soybean harvest is now over. US farmers will be eager to sell into any rallies before importers' attention starts to shift towards South American crops," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"For now though, demand remains strong - weekly US soybean export inspections were even better than analysts had expected."
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday reported export inspections of US soybeans in the latest week at more than 2.6 million tonnes, topping a range of trade expectations for 1.7 million to 2 million tonnes.
Soybeans have also drawn support from rallies in crude oil and Asian oilseed markets, as well as an easing in the dollar index from a 13-1/2 year high struck last year.
"The rally of crude oil and palm fuelled the bullish trend before the inflow of the US harvest," consultancy Agritel said in a market note.
In cereals, the most active wheat futures fell 0.7 percent to $4.07-1/4 per bushel while corn fell 0.6 percent to $3.47-3/4 a bushel.
In a crop report released after the market close on Monday, the USDA rated 58 percent of the US winter wheat crop as good to excellent, down from 59 percent the previous week.
This was in line with market expectations and failed to fuel background concerns about drought in some US regions.
Corn was being curbed by the arrival of an estimated record US harvest, which is facing competition for livestock feed demand from large wheat supplies.
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