Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures slid on Wednesday on technical selling and fund profit-taking, after hitting a nearly six-month top on Tuesday, traders said.
But the trade is growing increasingly skeptical Chinese export prospects for US supplies at the volumes that Washington has promised - particularly wheat and corn, traders said.
"They're really skeptical in part because USDA's last report increased China's corn production by more than 2% and added more than 1.5 metric tonnes to China's wheat production numbers," said Global Commodity Analytics analyst Mike Zuzolo. "How much, really, could they buy from the US?"
The market also remains underpinned by easing trade war tension between the United States and China and by an anticipated rise in export taxes in Argentina, which could reduce competition for US exports.
The benchmark CBOT March soft red winter wheat settled down 8 cents at $5.48-1/4 per bushel.
K.C. March hard red winter wheat ended down 4-3/4 cents on Wednesday, closing at $4.62-1/4 a bushel, while MGEX March spring wheat inched down 1/4-cent to settle at $5.38-1/2 a bushel.