CHICAGO: US corn and wheat futures fell on Monday as the first grains ship left a Ukrainian port using a newly agreed safe shipping channel, raising hopes Ukraine’s sea-borne cereals exports can resume on a large scale after being blocked by war.

Soybean futures tumbled about 4% on profit-taking at the start of a new month, and after the benchmark November contract surged nearly 12% last week. Broad weakness in commodities, including crude oil, hung over the markets, tied to recession fears.

In China, the world’s top soy buyer, factory growth slowed in July, data showed, despite some easing of the strict domestic COVID-19 curbs in the second quarter.

As of 1:08 p.m. CDT (1808 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade November soybeans were down 66-1/2 cents at $14.02 per bushel. December corn was down 12-1/2 cents at $6.07-1/2 a bushel and CBOT September wheat was down 10-1/2 cents at $7.97-1/4.

Soybean futures sometimes follow trends in crude oil due to soyoil’s use in biodiesel, and corn is the main US feedstock for ethanol.

Traders continue to monitor crop weather in the Midwest, where the US corn and soybean crops continue to develop.