Chicago soybean futures lost ground on Wednesday, snapping a six-session winning streak, as concerns over Chinese demand and expectations of a record Brazilian crop weighed on the market.
Wheat slid as U.S. supplies continue to face stiff competition in the international market despite a bullish outlook by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.2% to $8.99-1/4 a bushel by 0351 GMT, having firmed 0.4% on Tuesday.
Wheat lost 0.2% to $5.22-1/2 a bushel, having closed up 0.2% on Tuesday. Corn gave up 0.2% to $3.76-1/4 a bushel, having gained 0.3% in the previous session.
Swine Fever
"Soybeans are coming off a bit. Even if a trade deal is reached between Washington and Beijing, Chinese demand for beans in the near term will be impacted by the swine fever," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank.
China's African swine fever outbreak is far more severe than previously thought and the full impact of the disease on animal feed producers has yet to be realized, U.S. agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland Co said last month.
Millions of pigs have died from or been culled to control the disease in China and other Asian countries, such as Vietnam. Soybeans are crushed to make soymeal, a key animal feed ingredient.
Trade Focus
Grain traders remain largely focused on negotiations between Washington and Beijing ahead of Dec. 15, when U.S. tariffs on nearly $160 billion worth of Chinese consumer goods kick in, potentially increasing tensions in the 17 month-long trade war between the two countries.
The USDA, in its monthly supply-demand report, kept its outlook for corn and soybean ending stocks steady. It also left its closely-watched forecasts for corn and soybean production in Brazil and Argentina unchanged.
Brazil's 2019-2020 soybean crop, in the final phase of planting, could reach a record 122.7 million tonnes, according to the average forecast in a Reuters survey of 16 market analysts.
There was no U.S. wheat offered in a snap tender by Egypt's state grain buyer, which ultimately bought 355,000 tonnes of Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian and French wheat.
However, U.S. supplies of wheat will fall to a five-year low, with exports on the rise due to smaller harvests from key global competitors, the USDA said.
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