NOTE: US markets including CBOT grains will be closed on Thursday. Friday is the last trading day for CBOT December options.
WHEAT - Down 2 to 3 cents per bushel Profit-taking setback after a three-session climb. Market lacks fundamental news. Concerns about declining US wheat plantings and dry weather in the southern Plains underpin values. CBOT December wheat traded on both sides of its 50-day moving average near $4.07 in early moves.
The US Department of Agriculture rated 58 percent of the US winter wheat as good to excellent, down from 59 percent the previous week and in line with trade expectations.
The USDA said the crop was 97 percent planted.
Syria needs wheat and fuel to alleviate shortages and suffering caused by its civil war and wants to expand trade ties with Russia, the Syrian government told a high-level Russian delegation.
CBOT December soft red winter wheat last down 3 cents at $4.07-1/4 per bushel; K.C. December hard red winter wheat down 1-1/2 cents at $4.13; MGEX December spring wheat down 1-1/4 cents at $5.25-1/2.
CORN - Down 1 to 2 cents per bushel Market pausing after a three-session climb. CBOT December corn touched $3.50-1/4, its highest since Nov. 9, ahead of the break in trade. Firm cash values noted in the interior Midwest as harvest selling winds down.
Large open interest in puts and calls at the $3.50 strike may act as a magnet for prices ahead of CBOT December options expiration on Friday.
The USDA said the US corn harvest was 97 percent complete as of Sunday, compared with the five-year average of 96 percent.
CBOT December corn last down 1-3/4 cents at $3.48 per bushel.
SOYBEANS - Down 1 to 2 cents per bushel Lower on profit-taking and technical selling after the January soybean contract reached $10.28-3/4, its highest since Oct. 27. Export demand and strength in Chinese soy markets lends underlying support.
The USDA said private exporters sold 30,000 tonnes of US soyoil to China for delivery in the 2016/17 marketing year.
Malaysian palm oil futures rose to a more than one-week high, supported by gains in soyoil on the CBOT and China's Dalian Commodity Exchange.
CBOT January soybeans last down 1-1/2 cents at $10.18-3/4 per bushel.