CHICAGO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures closed mixed on Wednesday, with wheat rising and corn and soybean falling.
The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 6.5 cents, or 0.94 percent, to settle at 6.855 U.S. dollars per bushel. December wheat rose 10 cents, or 1.12 percent, to settle at 9.0375 dollars per bushel. November soybean lost 17.5 cents, or 1.18 percent, to settle at 14.6125 dollars per bushel.
Corn and soybean sagged on lack of fresh demand. Corrections will find support in the near term as questions surrounding U.S. yield and Black Sea grain availability will go unanswered until early/mid-October. Chicago-based research company AgResource further suggests selling rallies as negative macro input is beginning to spill into physical agricultural supply and demand.
Ukrainian corn for October-November delivery remains offered at or below CBOT futures, with Brazilian FOB bids down 0.10 dollars per bushel from mid-September.
The U.S. dollar index has rallied to a new 20-year high. Assuming the Federal Reserve raises benchmark rates another one to two times this year after Wednesday's increase, capital will continue to flow into U.S. dollar.
U.S. ethanol production through the week ending Sept. 16 totaled 265 million gallons, as against 283 million gallons in the previous week and down 3 percent from the same week a year ago. U.S. gasoline consumption last week was 8.32 million barrels per day, the lowest since early July and down 6 percent year on year. Additionally, the United States released another 7 million barrels of crude from the strategic reserve, and crude stocks outside the reserve went up 4 percent from last year.
A Gulf tropical storm expected from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 will be slightly farther west. Otherwise, cooler temperatures but a near complete lack of rainfall are offered to the Plains and Midwest throughout the next 10 days. Harvest will accelerate next week.
