Chicago agricultural commodities close lower

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn, wheat and soybeans all settled lower on Thursday.

The most active corn contract for July delivery lost 3 cents, or 0.80 percent, to close at 3.7375 dollars per bushel. July wheat delivery shed 8.00 cents, or 1.70 percent, to close at 4.6325 dollars per bushel. July soybeans declined 21.75 cents, or 2.10 percent, to close at 10.1225 dollars per bushel.

Wheat futures declined sharply on ampler supply expectations and weaker export demand, according to analysts.

The annual hard winter tour, organized by the U.S. Wheat Quality Council, showed a potential for strong harvests, the Kansas.com reported Thursday.

According to the report, the estimate of average yield of winter wheat in Kansas, one of the biggest wheat producer in the United States, was 48 bushels per acre, 14 bushels per acre better than last year.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its weekly export sale report on Thursday, rating wheat net sales till the week of April 28 at 178,900 tons, down 49 percent from the previous week.

The USDA's report showed that corn net sales were 769,300 tons in the same period, down 64 percent from the previous week and also down 44 percent from the prior 4-week average. Analysts noted that these datas were below expectations, weighing on corn futures Thursday.

However, the report showed soybean net sales were 815,800 tons, up noticeably from the previous week and from the prior 4-week average, and analysts noted soybeans surged higher on the export sales in the morning session on Thursday, but soybean futures were pressed lower later when funds began profit taking after soybean's recent gains. Endit