CANBERRA: US corn futures edged lower on Thursday, falling from a two-month high touched in the previous session, though strong demand for ethanol and concerns about harvesting in the United States provided a floor to losses.
Wheat followed corn lower, while soybeans also ticked lower.
The most-active corn futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade were down 0.4% at $5.55-1/4 a bushel by 0313 GMT, having gained 2.5% in the previous session when prices hit an Aug. 19 high of $5.63-1/4 a bushel.
Analysts said lower oil prices were weighing on corn, though fundamentals remain strong.
"The market got further support from ethanol prices and demand," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"The market also has some worries about corn harvests in Europe."
Weekly US ethanol production rose to 1.106 million barrels per day, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The weekly total was the second biggest on record, trailing only the December 2017 total of 1.108 million barrels per day.
Ethanol stocks dropped to 19.925 million barrels despite the increased production, the administration said.
The most-active soybean futures were down 0.2% at $12.47-3/4 a bushel after closing little changed in the previous session.
The most-active wheat futures were down 0.7% at $7.54-3/4 a bushel, having closed up 1% on Wednesday.
Wheat is under pressure, analysts said, from sluggish demand for US supplies.
Egypt's GASC said on Wednesday it bought 180,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia, 12,000 tonnes of wheat from Ukraine and 60,000 tonnes of wheat from Romania in its latest tender.
However, analysts noted concern about production in the Black Sea region.
Continuing dry weather could hamper winter grain sowing in Ukraine and result in a smaller sown area in Russia, analysts and weather forecasters said on Wednesday.
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