US soyabeans declined half a percent on Wednesday as investors booked profits a day after prices hit a seven-month high, while wheat rose due to a lower dollar and to a cold snap that threatened the newly sown spring wheat crop and some of the more mature US winter wheat.
Corn posted tepid gains, lifted by the weaker dollar and a tentative rebound in equities from the previous session, when Wall Street posted a sharp decline as investors sold off risky assets.
On Tuesday, the risk-off trade pulled soyabeans down, reversing an early rise, while corn fell more than 2 percent to a one-week low and wheat dropped on strong prospects for the 2012 US winter wheat crop. "It's technical selling in beans, liquidation and I think some corn/bean spreading. Soyabeans had been racing ahead of corn so I think there's a little adjustment today," said Jerry Gidel, analyst for Rice Dairy LLC.
CBOT May wheat was up 2-1/4 cents per bushel at $6.28, May corn was up 1-1/4 at $6.36 and May soyabeans were down 4 at $14.22.
When grain markets closed near 1:15 p.m. CDT (1815 GMT), the dollar index was down 0.13 percent, NYMEX May crude oil was up nearly $2.00 per barrel and the Dow Jones industrial average was up 108 points. MGEX May spring wheat closed 4-1/2 cents per bushel higher at $8.38-1/4 per bushel.
Wheat futures turned firm on short-covering, bargain buying and talk of potential harm to some of the wheat crop due to the freezing weather. Top quality spring wheat also rose on demand for high protein wheat and to low US spring wheat plantings.
The USDA in its annual March 30th plantings report said 2012 US spring wheat acreage would total only 11.976 million, below an average of analysts' estimate for 13.313 million and down from last year's sowings of 12.394 million. USDA also pegged this year's US corn acreage at 95.864 million, the biggest planted area in 75 years. Smith said the low volume traded in the MGEX spring wheat futures market left it vulnerable to volatile price swings.
Freezing temperatures early on Wednesday covered most of the Midwest and some damage may have occurred to emerging corn and jointing wheat in portions of central Illinois, central and southeastern Indiana, southwestern Ohio and a few spots in Kentucky, Commodity Weather Group said. Temperatures fell as low as 28 degrees Fahrenheit (-2 Celsius).