Chicago agricultural commodities settle mixed

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close mixed on Monday with soybean futures rising nearly 1 percent while corn and wheat falling due to caution ahead of Tuesday's U.S. elections and a key supply-demand report.

The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 2.5 cents, or 0.72 percent, to 3.4625 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery dropped 4.25 cents, or 1.03 percent, to 4.1 dollars per bushel. January soybeans rose 7.75 cents, or 0.78 percent, to 9.985 dollars per bushel.

Prices for soybeans rallied for a third straight day, buoyed by an announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that private exporters had booked sales of 132,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China in the 2016-17 crop year.

The sale offered proof that overseas buyers are continuing to snap up U.S. soybeans at a brisk pace, helping soothe concerns over demand for the huge crop being brought in from U.S. fields.

With the harvest of record-large U.S. soybean and corn crops nearly complete, many investors were waiting to see if demand would help draw down the big supplies.

Gains in the dollar against a basket of currencies made U.S. goods comparatively more expensive in global markets and weighed on wheat and corn prices. Wheat has been struggling to compete in export markets due to cheaper supplies and freight costs on offer out of Russia and eastern Europe.

Still, anticipation that the government will slightly trim its outlook for U.S. corn output capped losses in that market. Enditem