CHICAGO: Chicago Board of Trade soybeans, wheat and corn futures fell on Thursday on a profit-taking setback after rallying earlier in the week, traders said.

“We are just running into a bit of technical resistance across the board,” said Dan O’Bryan, a risk management specialist and broker at Top Third StoneX. “You have got to feed the bull everyday.”

The losses in corn, which had posted gains in the six previous sessions and hit the highest in nearly two months on Wednesday, were limited by concerns about potential harvest shortfalls in the US Midwest.

Corn yield prospects in Western Iowa are lower than last year, scouts on an annual tour of top US producing states found on Wednesday. Illinois corn yield prospects are also lower than last year but above the three-year average.

At 11:44 a.m. CDT (1644 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures were down 18 cents at $14.39 a bushel. CBOT December corn dipped 3 cents to $6.54-1/4 a bushel.

“A few traders are booking profit as prices jumped too much in a short span,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

Bumper US crops are needed to offset low global grain supplies, but extreme heat and widespread drought in parts of the Midwest have hampered fields and a string of troubled crop harvests worldwide are pointing to multiple years of tight supplies and high food costs.

CBOT December soft red winter wheat was 14-3/4 cents lower at $7.98-1/2 a bushel, with concerns about global demand adding pressure.

Egypt, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, is believed to have made no purchase of imported wheat in talks with trading houses on Wednesday, traders said. The General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) considered prices offered as too high, they said.