PARIS/SINGAPORE: Chicago corn futures fell for a third session in a row on Wednesday to touch a one-week low, dragged down by ample world stocks and concerns over US trade policy under President Donald Trump.
Soybeans resumed their downward trend of the past week, hitting their lowest in nearly two weeks, as a rebound at Tuesday's close petered out and drier weather in Argentina after recent flooding continued to curb prices.
Wheat tracked corn lower although weakness in the dollar helped limit losses in US grain futures.
The Chicago Board of Trade most-active corn contract was down 0.2 percent to $3.62-1/2 a bushel by 1214 GMT. It earlier marked its lowest since Jan. 17 at $3.61 as it continued to pull back from a six-month high struck on Friday.
CBOT soybeans slipped 0.5 percent to $10.53-3/4 a bushel, after earlier touching its lowest since Jan. 13 at $10.50. Wheat dropped 0.6 percent to $4.24 a bushel.
Concerns about prospects for US agricultural trade clouded the outlook for grain markets, given Trump's plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and his abandoning of the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership with Asian countries.
The Environmental Protection Agency will delay implementation of this year's biofuels requirements along with 29 other regulations finalised in the last weeks of Barack Obama's presidency, according to a government notice.
"Trump's policies seem to be bringing in a lot of uncertainty to the market, which is already struggling with oversupply," said Rajesh Singla, head of agriculture research at Societe Generale.
"US corn exports to Mexico could be at risk if they repeal NAFTA. Brazilian and Argentinean farmers will benefit."
President Trump plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada, and has already withdrawn the United States from the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership with Asian countries.
Corn was also pressured by an increase in Informa Economics' projection of US 2017 corn plantings to 90.489 million acres, from 90.151 million last month.
Informa also trimmed on Tuesday its 2017 soybean plantings forecast to 88.647 million acres from 88.862 million previously, lending some support to soybeans at the previous close.
But like other forecasters, Informa still anticipates a significant shift towards soybeans and away from corn in the spring planting season in the United States.
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