Corn and soybeans also fell at the Chicago Board of Trade, with all three markets posting a weekly decline ahead of a U.S. Department of Agriculture supply and demand forecast due on Tuesday.

Rains were forecast to last through the weekend in Argentina, limiting yield loss in corn and soybean fields ahead of what were expected to be bumper crops.

Egypt earlier canceled a tender to buy wheat after receiving only four offers that were well above prices quoted in an Algerian deal this week, suggesting Cairo continues to suffer from the confusion over its import regulations.

CBOT March wheat finished six cents lower at $4.66-3/4 per bushel (figures US$ except where noted). The contract’s losses of nearly three per cent during the last two sessions were the sharpest since December and wiped out gains seen earlier this week.

European milling wheat slumped to a life-of-contract low of 156 euros (C$240).

“It seems like the ongoing problems stemming from the Egyptian tenders have created a bearish undertone in the market,” said Terry Reilly, analyst at Futures International.

“When you look at the fundamentals in general, there’s really not much of a bullish case in wheat at all. Now that Argentina is getting some rainfall that is pressuring beans and corn, it’s just adding to the bearish undertone,” Reilly said.

CBOT March corn settled down 2-3/4 cents at $3.65-3/4 per bushel and CBOT March soybeans ended seven cents lower to $8.67-1/2. Each contract fell more than one per cent during the week, for their worst weekly declines so far of 2016.

U.S. regulatory data released after the close of trading showed speculative investors, including hedge funds, trimmed their net short positions in corn and soybean futures during the week ended Feb. 2 as well as narrowly increased their net short stake in wheat.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected USDA in its monthly supply outlook to show larger U.S. grain supplies but slightly lower world stocks.

Rains overnight in western Argentina were seen as beneficial, but overall crop stress was limited to only 20 per cent of the country’s crops, the Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients.

“A lack of severe heat has helped to limit reductions in yield potential ahead of the rain event,” the meteorologist said.

— Justin Madden and Michael Hirtzer report on ag commodity markets for Reuters from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Nigel Hunt in London.

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Corn and soybeans also fell, retreating from six-week highs set this week, on improving crop prospects in South America.

At the CBOT, March wheat settled down 7-1/4 cents at $4.72-3/4 per bushel. March corn ended down 2-1/2 cents at $3.68-1/2 per bushel and March soybeans fell 2-1/4 cents at $8.74-1/2 a bushel.

Wheat fell after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales of U.S. wheat at 66,200 tonnes, below trade expectations and the smallest weekly total since the 2015-16 marketing year began on June 1.

CBOT wheat futures have suffered in part due to record-large global stocks of wheat and stiff competition for export business.

“The problem is, no matter what you look at, we’ve got plenty of everything,” said Roy Huckabay with the Linn Group, a Chicago brokerage.

CBOT grains fell despite weakness in the dollar, which can make U.S. goods more attractive to those holding other currencies. The dollar index fell for a fourth day on diminished expectations of U.S. interest rate hikes this year.

Traders shrugged off smaller-than-expected Canadian wheat stocks data. Statistics Canada said Canadian wheat inventories fell 19 per cent to an eight-year low of 20.7 million tonnes as of Dec. 31. The figure fell below an average of trade estimates for 21.8 million.

Corn and soybean futures also felt pressure from ample world supplies, given favourable harvest prospects in Brazil and Argentina.

In Brazil, government crop supply agency Conab raised its forecast of the country’s total corn harvest to 83.3 million tonnes, from 82.3 million in January.

Conab trimmed its forecast of Brazil’s soybean crop to 100.9 million tonnes, from 102.1 million last month. But the new estimate would still represent a record-large crop, if realized, boosting global soy inventories at a time when U.S. farmers are deciding what to plant.

Also, beneficial rains were forecast for Argentina’s crop belt, easing concerns about dryness.

“The expansion of significant rains across nearly all Argentina corn/soy areas remains universally supported by guidance between late Friday and early Tuesday, offering timely relief to recent rain deficits in over half of the belt,” the Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients.

— Justin Madden and Julie Ingwersen report on ag commodity markets for Reuters from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Colin Packham in Sydney and Gus Trompiz in Paris.

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Wheat settled narrowly higher at the Chicago Board of Trade after a more than one per cent drop in the dollar against a basket of currencies made U.S. supplies more attractive in global markets.

Overall ample world wheat supplies limited gains as wheat futures traded within the range established on Tuesday. Traders reacted cautiously to news that top importer Egypt would again allow traces of a grain fungus in a latest twist in a standoff with traders over import rules.

CBOT March soybeans finished 9-1/2 cents, or one per cent, lower at $8.76-3/4 per bushel, after reaching $8.89-1/2 on Tuesday, its highest since Dec. 22 (all figures US$). Corn for March delivery ended 1-1/2 cents lower to $3.71.

“Corn and soybeans can’t rally, I don’t understand it,” said Mark Gold, analyst at Top Third Ag Marketing. “We’ve had some good technical selling in the corn and the beans over the last couple of days, now the beans break 8 cents here today with the dollar down and the crude up.”

Some traders speculated the approaching week-long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday could signal lower soy imports from the top global oilseed buyer.

The traders also were waiting to see rainfall totals in Argentina, with showers beneficial to developing corn and soybean plants forecast to fall on Friday to Monday, the Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients.

Informa Economics at midday boosted its outlook for Argentine corn and soy production while the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release monthly supply and demand forecasts on Tuesday.

“Both Argentine and Brazilian exporters have the incentive to keep moving it,” said Terry Roggensack, analyst with the Hightower Report. “The Argentina old-crop supply of beans is moving as fast as it can onto the crushing industry, or out on to the world market. They are trying to get done before Brazil gets fully loaded up on their harvest.”

“(U.S.) exports are slow and competition is going up, and Brazil is staring at a record crop,” Roggensack added.

March wheat finished up 4-3/4 cents at $4.80 per bushel, notching the day’s highs in the final minutes of the session but still trading below Tuesday’s high of $4.83.

— Justin Madden and Michael Hirtzer report on ag commodity markets for Reuters from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Gus Trompiz in Paris.

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Corn and soybeans also fell as macroeconomic worries hung over the market and on some forecasts for much-needed rains in Argentina next week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, March wheat ended four cents lower at $4.75-1/4 per bushel (all figures US$).

March corn settled down 3/4 cent at $3.71-1/4 per bushel and March soybeans settled down 1-1/2 cents at $8.80-3/4 a bushel.

Wheat sagged on a lack of follow-through after a short-covering rally lifted futures on Friday, the last trading day of the month.

“The bottom line is, world competition for wheat (exports) continues to be pretty stiff, and we are not getting any,” said Tom Fritz, a partner with EFG Group in Chicago.

After the CBOT close, Egypt’s main state wheat buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), set a tender to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from global suppliers for shipment from March 2-11. U.S. wheat has not been offered in recent GASC tenders. Results were expected on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, GASC rejected a cargo of French wheat because it did not comply with new import rules, a move that pressured European grain futures.

Traders were still digesting news that Russia, one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, likely would not change its current regime of grain export taxes.

Concerns over the possibility of tougher limits on Russia’s foreign sales of wheat had sent global prices to a one-month high last week.

And a winter storm brewing in the U.S. Plains was forecast to blanket the region’s winter wheat with an insulating layer of snow ahead of a cold spell late this week.

CBOT soybeans and corn fell on technical selling and spillover weakness from crude oil and world equity markets.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report showed that noncommercial traders slashed their net short position in CBOT corn in the week to Jan. 26. Some observers viewed the data as a signal that short-covering rallies may have stalled for the time being.

“Traders are running out of reasons to cover their short positions, and have no real reason to even consider buying,” said Karl Setzer, an analyst with the MaxYield Cooperative in West Bend, Iowa.

Forecasts for improving weather in South America, including rains expected in dry areas of Argentina, added to bearish sentiment.

A record soybean crop is expected in Brazil in early 2016 despite some recent cuts in harvest forecasts.

— Justin Madden and Julie Ingwersen report on crop commodity markets for Reuters from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Michael Hogan in Hamburg and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.

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Corn and wheat also settled higher.

CBOT March soybeans finished up 14-1/2 cents at $8.82-1/4 a bushel, rebounding after dipping to $8.67, its lowest since Jan. 12 (all figures US$).

March corn ended 6-1/2 cents up at $3.72 per bushel and March wheat closed seven cents higher at $4.79-1/4 a bushel.

Soybeans settled near session highs with the March contract ending above its 100-day moving average near $8.81, a bullish chart signal.

Traders said the strength in soybeans was technical in nature, with expectations of big crops in South America limiting rallies.

“When we dip into some support areas, we’ll see that buying from time to time, but I don’t really look for this buying interest to be maintained or sustained unless weather in South America is very dry in the long term,” said Brian Hoops, analyst at Midwest Market Solutions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported weekly export sales of U.S. soybeans in the latest week at 647,800 tonnes, in line with trade expectations for 500,000 to 800,000 tonnes.

However, USDA on Thursday said exporters canceled sales of 395,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans sold to China, a factor that traders were still digesting.

“Cancellations are not unusual, of course, but they are a sharp reminder that soybeans are a buyers’ market right now,” said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Corn closed higher and finished January up 13-1/4 cents per bushel or 3.7 per cent, due in part to commodity funds covering short positions.

After Friday’s CBOT close, weekly data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed that non-commercial traders slashed their net short position in CBOT corn by more than 74,000 contracts in the week to Jan. 26, to 129,051 contracts.

Corn rallied despite lacklustre weekly export sales and a jump in the U.S. dollar, which in theory makes U.S. grains less competitive on the world market.

USDA reported weekly export sales of old-crop U.S. corn at 817,000 tonnes, at the low end of trade estimates for 800,000 to one million tonnes.

“We expected much better sales than what we saw,” Hoops said.

CBOT wheat closed higher, with the March contract settling above its 50-day moving average.

Russia, a leading wheat exporter, is not expected to change its current regime of taxes on grain exports, sources said, following proposals to change them.

— Justin Madden reports on crop commodity markets for Reuters from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Gus Trompiz in Paris.

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Chicago Board of Trade March wheat ended 4-1/4 cents lower at $4.72-1/4 per bushel, after hitting a one-month high earlier this week (all figures US$).

March corn closed 3-3/4 cents down at $3.65-1/2 per bushel, while March soybeans settled 15-1/4 cents lower at $8.67-3/4 a bushel, with the front-month contract hitting its lowest since Jan. 6.

“Beans were mostly flat overnight, but an announcement by the USDA of cancellations of sales to the Chinese sent the willies through the futures and crashed the market through chart selling,” Charlie Sernatinger, global head of grain futures at ED+F Man Capital, said in a note to clients.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said private exporters canceled the sale of 395,000 tonnes of soybeans to China for delivery in the 2015-16 marketing year on Thursday.

Chinese companies have ordered more than 20 cargoes, equivalent to 1.2 million tonnes of corn, mostly from Ukraine, for shipment in the first quarter, a government think tank said Thursday.

Russia’s news to lift or reduce export taxes on wheat and China cancelling the U.S. exports of soybeans is fuelling negativity in the market, analysts said.

“The bottom line is that we’re probably going to struggle to hit our export targets,” said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist for INTL FCStone.

Chinese companies have ordered more than 20 cargoes, equivalent to 1.2 million tonnes of corn, mostly from Ukraine, for shipment in the first quarter, a government think tank said on Thursday.

In Argentina, a drought has caused corn crop losses in some areas despite the El Nino weather phenomenon which usually triggers heavy rains in South America, an analyst at the country’s main grains exchange said. But severe harvest shortfalls were not expected.

“Over the next 10 days, very little rainfall is expected across eastern Argentina, which will allow dryness to increase across Entre Rios… Significant head is not expected, however, which will help to limit crop stress,” MDA Weather Services said in a note to clients.

— Justin Madden reports on crop commodity markets for Reuters from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Naveen Thukral and Sybille de La Hamaide.

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Corn coasted for the second straight day, while soybean futures rose on dry weather concerns in South America and southern Africa.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, March wheat settled 8-1/4 cents lower at $4.76-1/2 per bushel, a day after hitting $4.88-1/2, its highest since Dec. 21 (all figures US$).

March corn finished unchanged at $3.69-1/4 per bushel while March soybeans settled up 6-1/2 cents at $8.83 a bushel, the contract’s biggest daily rise in two weeks.

Wheat fell for the first time in five sessions in largely technical trade as the market awaited fresh fundamental news.

“We are in a pattern of seeing short-covering rallies run out of steam,” said Joe Davis, director with Futures International in Chicago. “Usually this time of year we have weather and acreage talk grab headlines, and we are not seeing much of that this year,” Davis said.

Wheat rallied earlier this week on talk that Russia, a top exporter, could toughen grain export terms to help curb domestic food prices. But Deputy Agriculture Minister Evgenii Gromyko said on Wednesday his ministry had proposed removing or reducing a wheat export tax, and imposing one on corn and barley.

“If they reduce the (wheat) tax, that just makes more wheat in the world,” said Jason Roose, analyst and vice-president of U.S. Commodities.

The introduction of a corn export tax by Russia could boost a corn market in which weather-related production losses in southern Africa are seen trimming large worldwide supplies.

CBOT soybeans rose, with the spot March contract settling above its 100-day moving average. The soy complex drew support from concern about dryness in crop areas in Argentina.

“(O)ur forecast offers little relief for the driest 20 per cent of the belt,” the Commodity Weather Group said in a note to clients, adding, “Minor reductions in yield potential are expected, although a lack of heat will mitigate stress to some extent.”

— Justin Madden reports on crop commodity markets for Reuters from Chicago. Additional reporting for Reuters by Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, Colin Packham in Sydney and Gus Trompiz in Paris.

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