Thursday is the fourth day of the five-day period in which commodity index funds are expected to rebalance their portfolios for 2017.
WHEAT - Steady to down 1 cent per bushel Choppy as traders await USDA's reports, including US winter wheat plantings.
Pressure noted from storms bring welcome moisture to the US Plains and Midwest. But a weaker dollar lends support.
The USDA reported export sales of US wheat in the week to Jan. 5 at 391,000 tonnes, in line with trade expectations for 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters expect the USDA later on Thursday to report US winter wheat acres for 2017 harvest at 34.1 million acres, the fewest in more than a century.
Analysts also expect USDA to report the largest Dec. 1 wheat stocks since 1987.
CBOT March soft red winter wheat last down 3/4 cent at $4.18 per bushel; K.C. March hard red winter wheat down 3-1/4 cents at $4.28-1/2; MGEX March spring wheat last up 3-1/4 cents at $5.64-3/4.
CORN - Down 1 to 3 cents per bushel Lower but rangebound on light position-squaring ahead of USDA's stocks and supply/demand reports. Fresh corn export business may lend support.
The USDA reported export sales in the latest week at 603,300 tonnes of old-crop corn and 151,700 tonnes of new crop, in line with trade expectations for 500,000 to 800,000 tonnes.
Through its daily reporting system, the USDA said private exporters sold 110,000 tonnes of US corn to Japan and 253,488 tonnes to unknown destinations, all for delivery in the 2016/17 marketing year.
Ahead of the USDA's reports later on Thursday, analysts surveyed by Reuters expected the government to report Dec. 1 US corn stocks at 12.3 billion bushels, which would be the most on record for that day.
Analysts also expected the USDA to trim its estimate of the US 2016 corn harvest.
China will import less than 1 million tonnes of corn-based distillers' dried grains (DDGS) in 2016/17, an official think-tank estimated, after Beijing slapped high anti-dumping duties on the animal feed ingredient.
CBOT March corn last down 2-1/4 cents at $3.55.
SOYBEANS - Steady to up 1 cent per bushel Steady to firm as traders adjust positions ahead of USDA's supply/demand and quarterly stocks reports. Disappointing weekly export sales may lend pressure.
The USDA reported net export sales of old-crop soybeans for the week to Jan. 5 at 348,900 tonnes, along with net cancellations of 57,000 tonnes of new-crop soybeans.
Trade expectations were for net sales of 500,000 to 800,000 tonnes.
Ahead of the USDA's supply/demand reports, analyst surveyed by Reuters expected the government to raise its estimate of the US 2016 soybean crop but trim its forecast of US 2016/17 soybean ending stocks.
The CME Group reported 121 CBOT January soybean deliveries, 239 soymeal deliveries and 174 soyoil deliveries.
Malaysian palm oil futures fell.
CBOT March soybeans last up 3/4 cent at $10.12-1/4 per bushel.