Chicago agricultural commodities close lower on supply, trade concerns

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures close lower on Friday, as traders mulled rising supplies and the potential for overseas trade in agricultural commodities to be roiled by the incoming Trump administration.

The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 3.25 cents, or 0.95 percent, to 3.4025 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery dropped 1.75 cents, or 0.43 percent, to 4.03 dollars per bushel. January soybeans fell 12 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 9.98 dollars per bushel.

All three commodities posted weekly losses, with the bearish tone from the U.S. Agriculture Department's monthly supply and demand and production reports hanging over the market.

For the week, soybeans were down 0.3 percent, corn was down 2.3 percent and wheat was down 2.7 percent. Those would mark the biggest weekly declines for both corn and wheat since late August.

Weakness in corn stemmed from growing inventories amid a record U.S. harvest while weak export demand for U.S. Wheat weighed on that grain.

Soybean futures led the decline, which analysts also attributed to a slowdown in buying by investment managers, as well as farmers taking advantage of favorable prices by selling their crops.

The contracts lost ground after earlier in the session rising because of a spike in palm oil futures traded in Asia, which were driven higher by a slide in the Malaysian currency and production problems.

Beyond Wednesday's bearish USDA report, grain markets have been buffeted this week by shifting views on the impact of Donald Trump's election to the U.S. presidency, and in particular his pledges to renegotiate trade deals.

Traders also are already looking ahead to the harvest in Brazil, which some said kicks off early in about a month, as bringing more soybeans to the global market early next year at a price that could undercut U.S. oil-seeds. Endit