CHICAGO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures closed mixed on Monday, with corn and soybean falling and wheat rising.
The most active corn contract for May delivery fell 0.75 cents, or 0.17 percent, to settle at 4.36 U.S. dollars per bushel. May wheat soared 14.25 cents, or 2.7 percent, to settle at 5.4275 dollars per bushel. May soybean shed 10.5 cents, or 0.88 percent, to settle at 11.8775 dollars per bushel.
Wheat future rose on rising Russian FOB offers, while soybeans sagged on weak Brazilian premiums. The shorts were taking a more cautious approach in positioning heading into the end of the quarter and month and ahead of coming March U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Stocks and Seeding report on March 28.
Wheat appears to have the best world fundamentals heading into a new growing cycle, but soybeans will struggle on rallies until 85 percent of the Brazilian soybean harvest is completed. Chicago-based research company AgResource doubts that corn and soybean breaks or rallies can be sustained until after the March 28 USDA report.
U.S. export inspections for the week ending March 14 were 48.8 million bushels of corn, 25.2 million bushels of soybeans and 11.1 million bushels of wheat.
For respective crop years to date, the United States has shipped out 909 million bushels of corn, up 31 percent year on year; 1,314 million bushels of soybeans, down 19 percent; and 504 million bushels of wheat, down 16 percent.
Brazilian rain in the next few weeks will boost winter corn and replenish soil moisture.
