Chicago Board of Trade March soft red winter wheat fell 6 cents to $4.51-1/4 a bushel by 12:42 p.m. CST (1842 GMT) in the contract's steepest drop in 2-1/2 weeks. The contract hit a three-month high the previous day. March K.C. hard red winter wheat fell 2-1/2 cents to $4.67-1/4 a bushel. The contract posted its strongest rally in seven months on Tuesday on record-large trading volume, hitting a four-month peak.
Condition ratings for winter wheat declined in January in several southern US Plains states that have been hit by drought, including top producer Kansas, the US Department of Agriculture said on Monday. Dry weather is expected to continue for the central Plains wheat belt, sapping needed soil moisture from the HRW crop, forecasters said.
Corn and soyabean traders are monitoring weather in Argentina as drought has reduced plantings and hurt yield potential for both crops. A slightly cooler forecast for the world's No. 3 corn and soyabean exporter and top supplier of soyameal and soyaoil weighed on corn and soya futures on Wednesday. CBOT March corn declined 1/2 cent to $3.61 a bushel after reaching a 2-1/2 month high the previous day, on pace to snap a three-session streak of gains. CBOT March soyabeans were 6 cents lower at $9.94-1/4 a bushel, pulling back from Tuesday's near two-month high.