US wheat and corn futures fell on Wednesday on profit taking from the previous session's strong rally, grain dealers said. Soyabean futures were higher but gains were kept in check as the market waited for Chinese purchases, the day after Beijing said it would issue exemptions on retaliatory import duties imposed on nearly 700 US goods including soyabeans.
Chicago Board of Trade March soft red winter wheat futures were down 1.1%, with the less-active K.C. hard red winter wheat and MGEX spring wheat contracts posting sharper declines.
"Yesterday was probably a little overdone in the wheat market," said Jim Gerlach, president of Indiana-based A/C Trading. "You are seeing a little bit of back and fill today."
Tuesday's rally of more than 4% in wheat was triggered by news of a further cut to Australia's official estimate of its drought-hit harvest, with the movement finding additional fuel from chart-based buying.
At 11:18 am CST (1718 GMT), CBOT March wheat was off 6 cents at $5.60-3/4 a bushel. Strength in the dollar, which makes US wheat relatively more expensive to overseas buyers and dims export prospects, also contributed to the bearish tone.
CBOT March corn was down 3 cents at $3.80 a bushel. March soyabeans were up 3-1/2 cents at $8.95-3/4 a bushel, finding technical support after dropping below their 10-day moving average for the first time since February 11. Prospects for China ramping up agricultural purchases have been clouded by the coronavirus epidemic that has killed around 2,000 people and disrupted travel and business activity. Chinese import needs in soyabeans have also been dented by a pig disease crisis that has reduced demand for feed. Grain markets were also looking ahead to crop forecasts expected at a February 20-21 conference organized by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which may give clues to US planting trends and expectations of export demand.