Chicago agricultural commodities open lower in morning trading

CHICAGO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities opened lower on Thursday, as traders continued profit taking ahead of the year's end.

March corn were 1.75 cents lower at 3.52 U.S. dollars per bushel as of 1500 GMT in the morning trading, March wheat was down 1.25 cents at 4.2675 dollars, and March soybeans was down 6 cents at 9.615 dollars.

With only two trading sessions left in the year, investors are likely squaring up positions, and those who made money are liquidating their long contracts, analysts said.

Prices also are falling amid weak demand for U.S. products. Russian exporters are undercutting U.S. shippers on wheat prices, and official data show that export sales of U.S. corn, beans, and wheat are all trailing the year-ago pace.

Still, dry weather in Argentina is underpinning soybean prices, while extremely cold weather in the U.S. Plains is likely to boost wheat futures. Enditem