Wheat falls back after hitting 2-week high; soy, corn also down

SINGAPORE/PARIS: Chicago wheat futures pulled back from a two-week high hit earlier on Thursday as weaker crude oil prices and a firmer US dollar offset tightening global supplies.

Soybeans fell after rising for five straight sessions, while corn edged lower.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 0.6% to $7.44-1/2 a bushel at 1115 GMT, after hitting 7.52-1/2 in early trade, its highest since Oct. 7.

Soybeans fell 0.7% to $12.36-3/4 a bushel and corn fell 0.5% at $5.36-3/4 a bushel.

"The interim rise in the prices of various agriculturals yesterday was chiefly attributable to the weaker US dollar," Commerzbank said in a note.

The US dollar index was slightly higher at 1030 GMT, at 93.648.

A fall in crude oil prices was also weighing grain futures, mainly corn.

Strategie Grains sharply increased its forecast for this year's maize crop in the European Union, which led the consultancy to trim its forecast for EU maize imports in the 2021/22 season.

The US corn and soybeans harvests are more than half complete and some end-users are raising their basis bids as they work to draw out supplies from farmers.

The US Energy Information Administration said production of corn-based ethanol in the latest week rose to 1.096 million barrels per day, the biggest weekly total since June 2019, while stockpiles increased to 20.080 million barrels.

Argentine farmers have sold 31.9 million tonnes of soybeans harvested in the 2020/21 season, the Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday in a report with data updated through Oct. 13.

On other oilseed markets, Malaysian palm oil futures pulled back from a record high to end lower on Thursday, rattled by concerns over tightening regulations on the commodities market in China.

Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, corn, wheat, soyoil and soymeal futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.