Chicago agricultural commodities lower across board

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn, soybeans futures extended their losses on Tuesday, while wheat settled lower on technical selling.

The most active corn contract for September delivery lost 3.25 cents, or 0.76 percent, to close at 4.2325 U.S. dollars per bushel. September wheat delivery fell 10.25 cents, or 1.72 percent, to close at 5.8525 dollars per bushel. November soybeans reduced 29 cents, or 2.86 percent, to close at 9.8575 dollars per bushel.

Funds have been huge sellers and CBOT floor brokers reported that funds have sold 8,500 contracts of corn, 4,500 contracts of wheat, and 8,000 contracts of soybeans before midday Tuesday, according to AgResource, a Chicago-based agricultural commodity research firm.

Analysts said corn and soybeans were also under pressure on a report released by the United States Department of Agriculture ( USDA) on Monday afternoon after the market closed. The USDA's weekly Crop Progress Report rated corn as 55 percent as good and 14 percent as excellent, up 1 point from a week earlier.

The soybean rating of the report was 52 percent as good and 11 percent as excellent, same as the previous week but above analysts ' estimates.

Additionally, the sharp gains of U.S. dollar on Tuesday also weighed on agricultural commodities as a strong U.S. dollar makes them more expensive and less attractive to international buyers. Endite