Chicago wheat, soybeans, corn lower despite weak U.S. dollar

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat, soybean and corn futures closed all lower on Monday as investors worried about global growth slowing down amid oil prices slump and downbeat U.S. manufacturing data, despite a weaker U.S. dollar.

Chicago wheat led losses as the most active wheat contract for March delivery lost 4 cents, or 0.83 percent, to close at 4.7525 dollars per bushel.

Corn for March delivery dropped 0.75 cents, or 0.2 percent, to close at 3.7125 U.S. dollars per bushel. March soybean delivery fell 1.5 cents, or 0.17 percent, to close at 8.8075 dollars per bushel.

Chicago wheat decreased as a weaker-than-expected manufacturing data from the U.S. lifted concerns on the health of the global economy, and the wheat prices in European markets kept sinking.

Corn futures came under pressure from a decline in crude oil prices diminished hope for investors that demand for corn could improve if refiners blend more corn-based ethanol into U.S. gasoline.

U.S. soybeans showed weakness as traders expected that weekly soybean inspections will continue to drift lower in the next several weeks without a quick shift to adverse weather in South American.

The U.S. weekly export inspections released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday showed that corn shipments through the week ending Jan. 28 were up about 13 percent from the previous week; wheat exports logged a 50-percent rise; soybean inspections fell by almost 4 percent from the prior week, respectively.

However, for their respective crop years to date, the U.S. corn shipments were down about 20 percent from a year ago.

As for wheat, the U.S. exports fell by 12 percent from the previous year with the drop being 1.5 percentage points higher compared to two weeks earlier.

For soybeans, shipments were down over 12.5 percent from last year, and the drop is also somehow higher, according to the USDA.

The weaker greenback help Chicago grains and soybeans trimming some losses for the day.

The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback against six major currencies, Monday fell by more than 0.6 percent on the prospects that the Federal Reserve would probably postpone raising interest rates, supporting dollar-denominated agricultural commodities. Endit