Chicago agricultural commodities settle mixed

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close mixed Thursday, with soybean prices rising while corn and wheat futures falling slightly.

The most active corn contract for December delivery edged down 1.75 cents, or 0.53 percent, to 3.3 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery fell 3.5 cents, or 0.87 percent, to 3.995 dollars per bushel. November soybeans added 7.75 cents, or 0.82 percent, to 9.505 dollars per bushel.

Soybean prices gained after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said private exporters booked sales of 110,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to unknown destinations in the 2016-17 crop year.

A weekly report from the agency also shored up prices of the oilseeds, with the government saying net soybean sales for the week ended Sept. 8 totaled more than one million metric tons, which was in line with analysts' expectations for 800,000 to 1.7 million tons.

Grain prices declined amid projections for bulging supplies, with stockpiles of corn and wheat both forecast to rise to 29-year highs next year. While reports from the early U.S. corn harvest show variable yields, analysts say the average U.S. yield will still likely be sufficient to significantly boost inventories of that grain, keeping pressure on the market.

Wheat prices slid as investor short-covering waned and traders worried about the impact of a controversial ban by Egypt on grain imports containing trace amounts of the ergot fungus.

Global wheat stockpiles are at an all-time high, and analysts said concern is growing that Egypt's zero-tolerance policy toward ergot will cause prolong a world surplus after U.S. farmers and others harvested huge wheat crops this year. Endit