Chicago agricultural commodities fall on reports of big harvest yields

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed lower Friday on reports of big harvest yields and heavy farmer sales on the cash market.

The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 0.25 cents, or 0.07 percent, to 3.365 dollars per bushel. December wheat delivery dropped 0.75 cents, or 0.18 percent, to 4.0475 dollars per bushel. November soybeans fell 21.5 cents, or 2.2 percent, to 9.55 dollars per bushel.

Soybean prices sank more than 2 percent, amid stronger-than-expected yield reports from farmers in the U.S. Midwest. The U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this month estimated that the average U.S. soybean yield would come in at 50.6 bushels an acre, smashing last year's record of 48 bushels an acre.

As the harvest progresses, farmers are turning up unexpectedly high yields, leading some analysts to project the government next month could boost its guess for U.S. soybean yields to as high as 52 bushels per acre, likely making for an ever bigger crop.

Wheat futures weakened as traders said ample global supplies were likely to blunt the impact of India's decision to slash its import tax on the grain. Corn, also facing pressure from the ongoing harvest, was down slightly.

The Indian government on Friday lowered the wheat import tax to 10 percent from 25 percent as part of its efforts to curb food inflation.

Wheat output in India, the world's second-biggest producer, has fallen well below the peak of 2014/15, reducing stocks to the lowest level in nearly a decade and pushing domestic prices close to record highs.

But a strong U.S. dollar and ample global supplies were likely to limit the pick-up in demand for U.S. wheat on the export market, keeping the gains in wheat in check, traders said.

Losses in corn were kept in check by end-of-week short-covering as well as some technical support. Buyers stepped into the market when the December contract hit its 40-day moving average.

Corn markets also faced price pressure from Friday's announcement by China that it was provisionally putting anti-dumping duties on U.S. distillers' dried grains, a by-product of corn ethanol used by feed mills as a substitute for corn and soymeal. 

Source : XINHUA