Corn and soybean futures eased after approaching three-year highs this week, with traders waiting to see whether a US-China summit on Thursday yields progress in agricultural trade.
CBOT corn Cv1 was down 6-3/4 cents at $5.30 a bushel while CBOT soybeans Sv1 fell 8-1/4 cents to $13.17-1/4 a bushel.
Technical selling and stronger dollar add pressure
Technical selling also weighed on futures, which have pulled back after touching a three-year high this month on concerns over Black Sea export disruptions.
"Wheat is the laggard of the grain market, possibly changing its trend from an uptrending market to a downtrend as technical support is being broken," said Brian Hoops, president of Midwest Market Solutions.
Most-active CBOT wheat Wv1 was down 9-1/2 cents at $7.07-3/4 a bushel by 12:35 p.m. CDT (1735 GMT). The benchmark earlier fell to its lowest level since August 26 at $7.02.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was expected to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, met US President Donald Trump on Tuesday and said they discussed a ceasefire on energy-related targets. Still, continued attacks on ports and vessels have tempered expectations among traders of a short-term recovery in Black Sea shipping.
"We continue to see little prospect of a near-term normalisation in Black Sea export volumes and believe expectations of a durable resolution are premature," said BMI, a Fitch Solutions consulting firm.
Strength in the dollar index =USD was also pressuring US grains by making them look more expensive to overseas buyers. FRX/
Wheat falls to four-week low on Black Sea diplomacy hopes
Wheat futures extended their fall to a four-week low on the Chicago Board of Trade on Wednesday on expectations that diplomatic efforts could ease Black Sea export disruptions linked to Russia's war with Ukraine, analysts said.
Corn and soybean futures also dropped.
Ukraine and Russia, both major grain suppliers, have voiced an interest in a limited ceasefire involving grain and energy-related targets, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York.
Traders hoped a truce could lead to a recovery in cargo movements that are at a near standstill in the Black Sea, affecting Russian and Ukrainian grain shipments.
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