Chicago agricultural commodities settle lower

CHICAGO, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains closed lower Monday with wheat futures falling to a one-week low on technical selling and an improving weather outlook.

Soybean futures set a two-week low on forecasts for much-needed moisture in parts of Argentina, and corn sagged as well.

The most active corn contract for March delivery fell 2.75 cents, or 0.76 percent to close at 3.5875 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery went down 6.5 cents, or 1.45 percent to close at 4.4025 dollars per bushel. March soybeans dropped 9 cents, or 0.92 percent to close at 9.6975 dollars per bushel.

Export data released Monday shows U.S. export inspections through the week ending Feb. 1 included 42 million bushels of corn, vs. 40 million the previous week; 48 million bushels of soybeans, vs. 42 million the previous week; and 16 million bushels of wheat, vs. 21 million a week ago.

For their respective crop years to date, the U.S. has shipped 584 million bushels of corn, down 33 percent from a year ago; 1,275 million bushels of soybeans, down 14 percent; and 611 million bushels of wheat, down 5 percent from this week in 2017. Enditem