(Reuters) – U.S. soybean futures fell for a second session on Thursday, pushed lower by favorable weather in key South American growing regions and a stronger dollar.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Chicago Board of Trade March soybeans fell 0.13 percent to $9.70-3/4 a bushel, having closed down 1.5 percent on Wednesday.
* March corn dropped 0.33 percent to $3.82-1/4 a bushel, after ending the previous session down 0.6 percent.
* March wheat eased 0.3 percent to $5.09-1/2 a bushel, having closed down 0.54 percent on Wednesday. Wheat had earlier touched a one-week high of $5.21-3/4 a bushel.
* Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Bangladesh and South Korea have all purchased or tendered for wheat this week.
* Statistics Canada also released its Dec. 31 stocks data on Wednesday, which landed within traders’ expectations. Stats Canada said all-wheat stocks were 24.8 million tonnes, the second-largest in 18 years. Canola supplies totalled 11.1 million tonnes, the second-highest ever, and soybean stocks jumped 29.4 percent to a record 3.5 million tonnes.
* U.S. Energy Information Administration ethanol showed a weekly drop in corn ethanol production of 30,000 barrels per day to 948,000 bpd, the lowest output since the first week of November 2014.
MARKET NEWS
* The euro took a spill early on Thursday after the European Central Bank said it would no longer accept Greek bonds as collateral for its liquidity operations, dealing a blow to Athens which is seeking debt relief from euro zone lenders.
* U.S. crude edged up to near $49 a barrel in early Asian trade on Thursday, rebounding slightly after losing 9 percent in one of its biggest daily routs ever as inventories rose to a record high.
* The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended lower on Wednesday, snapping a two-day rally as energy shares slid with oil prices and as investor anxiety about the euro zone returned in the closing minutes of trading.
