Prices of wheat, corn and soybeans fall

Chicago soybean futures fell on technical selling on Wednesday.

At 05:06 GMT, the most active soybean contract on the Chicago Stock Exchange fell 0.1% to $15.37-1/4 a bushel. Corn fell 0.4% to $6.76-3/4 a bushel, while wheat dipped slightly to $7.61.

With China reopening after the Lunar New Year holiday, the outlook for soybean demand has improved, according to a note from commodities research firm Hightower.

Bearish technical activity holds back corn prices. Also, traders are unsure if the rains forecast for Argentina next week will be enough to prevent stressful conditions for crops, according to the report.

Wheat hit a nearly four-week high earlier this week, while soybeans and corn hit their best levels in more than two weeks. On Tuesday, commodity funds were net sellers of corn and soybean meal futures contracts and net purchases of CBOT soybean, wheat and soybean oil futures contracts, according to traders.

Investors eagerly await the US Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision on interest rates, due to be announced at 1900 GMT. Analysts anticipate an increase of 25 basis points.

With little demand, corn and soybean barge base is stable

Lacking demand and declining freight costs, basic supplies for barge-bound corn and soybeans to the US Gulf Coast were largely flat on Tuesday, according to traders.

To offset weak export demand from the Gulf, weak farmer sales reduced the flow of corn and soybeans to the export market.

The Illinois River experienced substantial ice buildup due to cold weather in the northern Midwest, hampering river traffic. Shippers in the busy port of St. Louis were also encouraged by low water levels to reduce barge drafts, which reduced the amount of grain that could be loaded per barge.

In China, demand for imported corn and soybeans increased this week due to the closure of markets last week for the Lunar New Year. However, a trader said Chinese customers were hoping to buy new crop Brazilian soybeans at a lower price or US soybeans from the Pacific Northwest, which would arrive before shipments from the Gulf.

Barges loaded with CIF Gulf soybeans in January were offered at 115 cents on March futures (SH3) on the Chicago Stock Exchange (CBOT), while those loaded in February were offered at 107 cents on futures, both without changes.

While premiums for March shipments held around 120 cents over futures, base FOB offers for February soybean shipments held steady at about 130 cents over March futures. Basic offers for barge-loaded CIF corn in January held steady at 87 cents over March CBOT corn (CH3) futures.

FOB March offers were unchanged at 99 cents above futures, while FOB offers for February corn shipments fell 5 cents to about 90 cents above March CBOT futures.