CHICAGO, Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. wheat futures fell on Wednesday on technical selling and spillover weakness from European wheat markets amid thin export demand, while corn and soybeans stabilized after setting multi-year lows a day earlier.
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) March wheat settled down 10-1/4 cents at $5.95-1/4 per bushel but stayed inside the previous day's trading range.
CBOT March corn closed up 1/2 cent at $4.48-1/4 a bushel and March soybeans finished up 3-1/2 cents at $12.22-1/4 a bushel.
For the month of January, CBOT corn fell 4.9% and soybeans fell 5.8%, reflecting improved crop prospects in South America. CBOT wheat ended the month down 5.2%, pressured by weak export demand and improved moisture in the U.S. Plains.
Grain traders were cautious on Wednesday amid an absence of market-moving ag news and ahead of the Federal Reserve's first monetary policy decision of the year. Wall Street equities
fell sharply
after the Fed left interest rates unchanged as expected, but
gave no hint
that a rate cut was imminent.
"Fresh news is largely lacking today, leaving traders to focus on their risk exposure. For now, that means general weakness, although we've seen some markets drift higher," StoneX chief commodities economist Arlan Suderman said in a client note.
CBOT wheat fell as Euronext wheat futures hit contract lows, pressured by sluggish export demand and stiff competition from Russian supplies. Looking ahead, Russia will increase the area for the 2024 harvest by 300,000 hectares to 84.5 million hectares, the country's agriculture minister said.
Crude oil sagged after data showed China's manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth straight month in January, raising concerns about the health of the world's No. 2 economy and top global soy buyer.
Uncertainty over Chinese imports has added to price pressure from favourable harvest prospects in South America, which competes with the United States in export markets.
Rabobank said "yield-boosting South American rainfall (for corn and soy), Chinese demand headwinds and a good production outlook for U.S. and Russian wheat" were weighing on prices. (Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Diane Craft)
