SINGAPORE: US wheat slid from a three-week top on Thursday as the market was pressured by ample supplies, while soy dipped after posting its biggest monthly gains in a year on strong demand and concerns over South American output.
Soybean futures rose more than 9 percent in February in the largest monthly gain since December 2010, while corn posted a monthly rise of about 2.5 percent and wheat ended the month flat in the third straight month without a decline.
"I think there is a bit of profit-taking in the market, particularly soybeans as the upside has been so strong," said Abah Ofon, commodities analyst at Standard Chartered in Singapore.
"What is important for corn is that although the market has rallied there is some anxiety as to how much upside there is considering that it was below $6 a bushel in January and it has risen close to $6.60.
Chicago Board of Trade actively traded corn for May delivery fell 0.9 percent to $6.52-1/4 a bushel by 0323 GMT. May soy slid 0.7 percent to $13.11 a bushel and May wheat lost 0.8 percent to $6.62-1/2 a bushel.
Wheat prices have climbed to their highest since February 8 even as the world is amply supplied with the grain.
Wheat stocks will rise to 213.1 million tonnes at the end of the marketing year, up 6 percent from the record set last year of 200.7 million tonnes, the largest stocks in 12 years, according to the US Department of Agriculture in its report last month.
On Tuesday, Russian Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik raised the grain export forecast for the 2011/12 crop year by 12 percent to as much as 28 million tonnes.
Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry expects the area sown to corn to increase to 4.5 million-5.0 million hectares this year from 3.6 million hectares in 2011, it said on Wednesday, making up for winter grain plantings lost to drought and cold weather.
The soybean market has been driven by strong Chinese demand and concerns over output from South America.
Investment funds have increasingly bought into the market, buying the biggest amount of corn in a year on Tuesday, while grain importers have also stepped up purchases of US supplies amid shortfalls elsewhere in the world.
The US Department of Agriculture said US exporters sold 285,000 tonnes of US soybeans to China and 120,000 tonnes of optional origin corn to Mexico.
The sales follow the second-largest sale ever last week of US soybeans to China, which imports nearly two-thirds of the soy traded globally. Mexico, the No. 2 buyer of US corn, has also boosted grain purchases after drought sapped its own domestic corn crop.
Ships loading grains at Brazil's main ports will have to wait 15 to 20 days as the ports are running at full capacity with the grain harvest approaching its peak.
Investment funds bought 6,000 soybean contracts and 3,000 corn contracts and sold 1,000 wheat contracts.
Global soybean output this year is set for a record drop of 7.2 percent, or 19 million tonnes, mainly due to bad weather conditions in key growing areas of South America, Germany-based analyst Oil World forecast this week.
The rise in soybean prices could prompt US farmers to increase plantings this year at the expense of corn.
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