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Chicago agricultural commodities extended losses ahead of Christmas holiday

Xinhua, December 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat, corn and soybean futures closed all lower for a fourth straight session Thursday, as the market focused on improving weather in South America in thin Christmas Eve trading, despite upbeat weekly U.S. crop export sales and a weaker dollar.

CBOT soybeans led the losses as the most active soybean contract for March delivery dropped 7.75 cents, or 0.88 percent, to close at 8.73 dollars per bushel.

Meanwhile, corn for March delivery lost 1 cents, or 0.27 percent, to close at 3.645 U.S. dollars per bushel; March wheat delivery shed 2 cents, or 0.43 percent, to close at 4.675 dollars per bushel.

Soybean futures on Thursday extended their losses for a fourth session in a row as the Global Forecast System forecasted a much needed drier weather pattern for the southern Brazil with moderate to heavy rains shifting northward into the central and northern Brazil after Jan. 1, 2016.

Analysts said the timing of such rains for the north of Brazil will be ideal with the soybean pod. And the drier weather across the northeastern Argentina and the southern Brazil will allow crops there to flourish with reduced opportunity for rust to form in the future.

Agricultural goods shed some losses for the day following a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showing export sales of the grains and soybeans last week were above estimates.

The USDA said Thursday in its weekly export sales report that for the week ending Dec. 17, the United States saw a rise of 23 percent from the previous week in wheat exports or an increase of 35 percent from the prior four-week average.

Corn exports were up 66 percent from the previous week and 75 percent from the prior four-week average, while soybean export sales rose by 4 percent from the previous week, but down 6 percent from the prior four-week average, according to the same report.

For the week, the most active corn contract for March delivery lost 2.67 percent, March wheat shed 3.95 percent and March soybeans fell by 2.21 percent. Endit