Chicago agricultural products drop amid stronger dollar, slow export

Chicago's three major agricultural products tumbled on Thursday as U.S. dollar gained strength and the export sales posted slowed pace. The wheat touched a 2-week low while corn fell for the sixth time in latest seven trading days.

The most active corn contract for December delivery dropped 9. 15 cents, or 1.6 percent, to 5.6415 U.S. dollars per bushel. December wheat shed 14.15 cents, or two percent, to 6.6875 dollars per bushel. November soybean declined 10.5 cents, or 0.87 percent, to 12.015 dollars per bushel.

Traders credited the corn's selling to profit taking after Wednesday's dollar-induced rally and a very disappointing export sales.

The net weekly corn sales as of Oct. 14 came in at a 6-year low of just 212,478 metric tons, slumping 77 percent from a week earlier and 72 percent less than the average of the previous four weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report.

Moreover, the strengthening dollar also helped erode the appeal of agricultural products on the international market. The U.S. dollar index rallied 0.6 percent after the U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said that the major currencies are "roughly in alignment".

Wheat fell to the lowest level in almost two weeks on speculation that rain will improve early development of winter crops in the U.S. Great Plains.

Growing regions in the Plains may get 0.8 inch (2 centimeters) of rain in the next two days, with some areas getting as much as 1. 5 inches, World Weather Inc. said in a report.

Besides, the sluggish wheat sales also hammered the market. According to USDA's report, the cumulative all-wheat sales as of Oct. 14 stand at 55.4 percent of the USDA forecast for 2010/2011, lower than the five year average of 59.9 percent.

The profit-taking sentiment and firmed dollar also damped the soybeans market, which fell from a 16-month high.
(Source:xinhua)