US soyabean futures fell on Wednesday as investors took profits after six days in a row of price increases, while wheat and corn sank on technical selling.
Traders shrugged of news of the largest soyabean sale to China in more than eight months, in the absence of fresh signs of a potential phase one trade deal between the world's two largest economies.
Chinese buyers booked deals to buy 585,000 tonnes of US soyabeans the US Agriculture Department said on Wednesday.
At 11:34 a.m. CST (1734 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade January soyabean futures were down $8.95-1/4 a bushel.
An approaching Dec. 15 deadline for a new round of US tariffs on Chinese goods fuelled renewed caution on financial markets on Wednesday.
The US-China trade dispute has already disrupted flows of soyabeans and future demand for the oilseed could also be curbed by the massive outbreak of African swine fever in China.
China's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that African swine fever had been detected in three dead wild boars in northwestern Shaanxi province.
Expectations for a massive crop in Brazil also threatened to curtail Chinese demand for US supplies of soyabeans.
CBOT March corn was 5 cents lower at $3.72 a bushel, touching its lowest since Sept. 12.
Weak demand added pressure to the corn market, Schultz said.
CBOT March soft red winter wheat dropped 6-1/4 cents to $$5.17-1/2 a bushel. The contract sank through key technical points at its 20-day, 30-day, 40-day and 50-day moving averages during Wednesday's trading session.