Chicago agricultural commodities close lower amid farmer selling

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures eased on Tuesday after a multi-day rally in agricultural markets as farmer selling overwhelmed optimism over export demand or short covering by investors.

The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 0.25 cents, or 0.07 percent, to 3.5375 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery dropped 3.75 cents, or 0.88 percent, to 4.2 dollars per bushel. November soybeans fell 5.75 cents, or 0.59 percent, to 9.725 dollars per bushel.

Soybean prices declined after trading to a nearly one-month high earlier in the session, as farmer selling trumped evidence of strong demand for the oilseeds.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday said private exporters had booked 706,500 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2016/17 crop year, a large sale which supported the market for much of the day.

But prices turned lower late in the session as U.S. farmers also were marketing their crops in order to take advantage of higher prices. Domestic growers currently are harvesting what is projected to be a record crop this year, with farmer selling likely to cap rallies in the market, analysts said.

At the same time, short covering by investors, which had helped propped up the market in recent days, also tapered off.

Although the U.S. corn harvest is running slightly behind normal pace this year, favorable weather this week is expected to enable Midwest growers to make quick progress collecting what likely will be the nation's largest corn harvest ever. Endit