US MIDDAY: soya, wheat and corn lower

Chicago Board of Trade soyabean futures settled lower on Thursday on expectations of a slowdown in export demand for US soya, along with generally favourable South American crop weather, traders said. The most-active CBOT January soyabean contract settled down 2-1/2 cents at $10.29-3/4 per bushel after paring losses into the close.
CBOT January soyameal sagged on soft US cash values and lackluster export demand. The USDA reported export sales of US soyabeans in the latest week at 1,399,000 tonnes, at the high end of a range of trade expectations for 1.0 million to 1.4 million tonnes. Some analysts, however, believe top global soya buyer China will soon begin shifting its purchases to South American supplies.
The USDA reported weekly export sales of US soyameal at 150,400 tonnes, in line with trade expectations. Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade fell on Thursday for a sixth straight session, pressured by heavy deliveries against the December contract and technical selling as most months set life-of-contract lows, traders said.
Additional pressure noted from the expanding wheat harvests in Australia and Argentina, adding to already-plentiful global wheat inventories. Most-active CBOT March wheat settled down 7-1/4 cents at $3.95-1/2 per bushel after falling below psychological support at the $4 mark and notching a contract low at $3.93. Contract lows were also set in K.C. hard red winter wheat futures, with the March ending down 7-1/4 cents at $4.03 a bushel.
MGEX spring wheat closed modestly higher, supported by scarce global supplies of top-quality wheat. The March settled up 2-1/2 cents at $5.37 a bushel. The CBOT reported 901 deliveries against December futures, with the Term house account stopping 203 lots. The exchange also reported 810 deliveries against K.C. December futures. The MGEX reported 77 December spring wheat deliveries. Most-active CBOT March corn settled down 6 cents at $3.42-1/2 per bushel after dipping to $3.41-3/4, its lowest since Sept. 30.