Chicago agricultural commodities settle mixed

CHICAGO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains closed mixed on Monday, with soybean futures slumping to three-month lows as rain in Argentina eased concerns that farmers would scale back planting in the country.

Corn futures also declined on the rainy Argentine weather and pressure from abundant supplies of the grain. Wheat futures edged higher on concerns about dry weather hurting the U.S. winter crop.

The most active corn contract for March delivery went down 0.5 cent, or 0.14 percent, to 3.47 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery rose 2.25 cents, or 0.54 percent, to 4.205 dollars per bushel. January soybeans dropped 5.75 cents, or 0.59 percent to 9.615 dollars per bushel.

CBOT brokers estimate that funds have sold a net 3,500 contracts of corn and 3,100 contracts of soybeans, while buying 2,700 contracts of wheat.

Arctic cold temps will invade the central U.S. this week with lows to drop to zero or below across much of the Plains and the Midwest, which will leave the U.S. wheat crops vulnerable to winterkill.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) announced the sale of 396,000 tonnes of soybeans and 168,000 tonnes of US sorghum for delivery during the 2017/18 crop year. China continues to rapidly add to its sorghum purchases from the U.S. and the USDA is still too low with its annual forecast. Enditem