Soy eases from 4-week top on outlook for huge

Chicago soybeans fell on Wednesday, retreating from four-week highs touched a day earlier, as attention returned to expectations of record-large South American crops despite concern about wet harvest weather in Brazil.Corn slid after also hitting a four-week high on Tuesday, with prices underpinned by worries over lower production in South Africa.Wheat dipped, snapping two sessions of gains."Market focus is returning today to fundamental factors: that a massive soybean harvest is expected in Brazil along with good corn crops andthis is weakening soybean and corn prices," said Frank Rijkers, agrifood economist at ABN AMRO Bank."Wheat is partly being pulled down by weakness in soybeans and corn but also because of huge global supplies and strong competition to the US in global export markets. Falling crude oil prices are also a weakening factor."The Chicago Board of Trade March soybean contract was down 0.5 percent at $8.78-3/4 a bushel by 1107 GMT. March corn fell 0.2 percent to $3.66-3/4 a bushel and March wheat dropped 0.9 percent to $4.70-1/4 a bushel."Soybean and corn prices received some short-term support on Tuesday because of forecasts of heavy rain in Brazilian crop production regions," Rijkers said. "But even if there is extensive rain in the next week or so, Brazil is still likely to harvest an enormous and record soybean crop.""This expectation of large South American crops, along with large inventories, is weakening soybeans and corn today."Heavy rains are forecast in Brazil's centre-west grain belt this week, raising concerns about delays for farmers ready to harvest.Analysts at Brazil's Agroconsult cut their forecast for the country's 2015/16 soybean crop to 99.2 million tonnes on Tuesday from 100.6 million tonnes in October. But a record Brazilian crop surpassing last year's 96 million tonnes is still expected."The wheat market also faces massive supplies and there will be strong competition to the United States in export markets from Europe, the Black Sea region and now Argentina," Rijkers said.The US Department of Agriculture said on Tuesdayweekly US export inspections of wheat came in at 340,842 tonnes, near the low end of market forecasts.Sales of Argentine wheat to the United States were cited as a key factor that pushed European futures to contract lows on Monday.South Korea's Major Feedmill Group on Tuesday purchased 55,000 tonnes of feed wheat to be sourced from Argentina, illustrating the South American country's latest move into new markets following a relaxation of export restrictions.News SourceNews Collated byPAKISSAN.comCourtesy Business Recorder