CHICAGO, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural futures closed sharply lower on Thursday over massive fund selling.
CBOT brokers reported that funds sold 11,000 contracts of wheat, 7,000 contracts of corn, and 8,000 contracts of soybeans.
The massive selling was triggered by a weekly export sales report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The data covered the period from Dec. 28, 2018 to Jan. 3, 2019. The report was released on Thursday, well behind schedule, due to the record-long partial government shutdown.
The USDA reported net wheat sales of 131,200 metric tons for 2018/2019 marketing year, down 78 percent from the previous week and 76 percent from the prior four-week average.
Profit taking after four consecutive days of rise in wheat prices also contributed to the massive selling, said market watchers.
The USDA also reported net sales reductions of 612,000 metric tons of soybeans during the same period, while net corn sales stood at 459,800 metric tones, down 9 percent from the previous week and 64 percent from the prior four-week average.
At the end of the session, the most active wheat contract for March delivery was down 15.25 cents, or 2.92 percent, to close at 5.07 dollars per bushel. March corn was down 4 cents, or 1.06 percent, to settle at 3.7475 dollars per bushel. March soybeans were down 13 cents, or 1.42 percent, to close at 9.035 dollars.
