CHICAGO: US wheat and corn futures fell on Friday for a second straight session as traders liquidated long positions ahead of a US holiday weekend, and following a fund-driven rally seen as lacking fundamental drivers, analysts said.
Soybeans also extended losses from Thursday, pressured by falling vegetable oil prices in Asia and an advancing soybean harvest in Brazil.
As of 12:03 p.m. CST (1803 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March wheat was down 2-1/2 cents at $4.45-1/4 per bushel. March corn was down 3-1/4 cents at $3.70-1/4 a bushel and March soybeans were down 7-3/4 cents at $10.36 a bushel.
Wheat and corn closed poorly a day earlier, reversing to the downside after the March contracts in both markets set multi-month highs.
That bearish technical signal came after a run-up in open interest in CBOT corn futures, indicating an influx of new long positions that left the market vulnerable to long liquidation.
"This is just follow-through liquidation," said Tom Fritz, a partner at EFG Group in Chicago, adding, "The spec got too long, too fast."
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission was set to release its weekly Commitments of Traders report later on Friday, which will show funds' net positions in major commodities.
Traders await fresh US acreage forecasts from the US Department of Agriculture's annual outlook forum next week. Preliminary forecasts released by the USDA in November projected a drop in US corn plantings for 2017 and an increase in soybean acreage.
"Fundamentally, the grain setback makes plenty of sense, with no real impetus for corn especially to continue its unexpected rally, other than just to keep up with beans in the 2017 US acreage fight," brokerage INTL FCStone said in a note to clients.
The wheat market will get an indication of international demand in a tender being held on Friday by Egypt. US wheat was among the origins offered, but was not expected to rival cheaper bids of Black Sea wheat in the ongoing tender.
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