Grain Futures Fall to Multiweek Lows, Soybeans Higher

Grain futures fell to multiweek lows in a quiet session Wednesday, while soybean prices rose.

Oilseed futures got a boost from the soybean oil market, said Bill Nelson, senior economist at Doane Advisory Services, which rose on expectations that lawmakers and trade groups would push back against possible downward revisions to biofuel mandates by the Environmental Protection Agency.

November soybean futures at the Chicago Board of Trade rose 0.3% to $9.58 1/4 a bushel, turning higher as soybean oil contracts rose over 1%.

Wheat and corn futures, meanwhile, were under pressure throughout Wednesday's session.

CBOT December wheat futures fell 1.3% to $4.42 a bushel while December corn futures slid 0.4% to $3.48 1/4 a bushel. Both closed at the lowest points since mid-September.

There wasn't enough new information to stimulate buying interest, analysts said, with trading volume falling from Tuesday's session.

Rainfall, which moved eastward across the Midwest, delayed harvest activity. That helped soybean prices while limiting selling in the corn market.

Low water levels on the Mississippi River, meanwhile, are disrupting barge traffic and grain loading, even as farmers harvest what are expected to be bumper crops. The subsequent pileup is pressuring cash prices and slowing farmer selling, analysts said.

Write to Benjamin Parkin at benjamin.parkin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 04, 2017 16:11 ET (20:11 GMT)