GRAINS-Wheat, soyoil slide on Iran ceasefire; soybeans turn higher
By Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, April 8 (Reuters) - Chicago wheat futures fell nearly 3% on Wednesday while corn and soyoil also sagged after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, sending crude oil prices CLc1 tumbling.
But soybean futures turned higher on optimism about export prospects ahead of U.S.-China talks planned for next month.
At 1 p.m. CDT (1800 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade May wheat was down 16 cents at $5.82 a bushel after hitting $5.77, the contract's lowest since March 5.
CBOT May corn CK26 was down 1-1/2 cents at $4.47-1/2 a bushel, while May soybeans SK26 were up 3-3/4 cents at $11.62 a bushel.
The entire grains complex opened lower and crude oil fell below $100 a barrel.
Agricultural markets often follow energy prices due to the use of grains and oilseeds for biofuels. Futures for soyoil BOv1, derived from soybeans and used in biodiesel, fell more than 3%.
"The drop in prices today does seem quite sudden and as a result of the ceasefire announcement," said Dennis Voznesenski, an analyst at Commonwealth Bank.
Wheat faced additional pressure from improving U.S. crop prospects, with rains expected in the Plains this week, along with rising wheat output forecasts for Russia, the world's top exporter.
U.S. wheat is still "highly uncompetitive" compared to other origins, said Terry Linn, analyst with Linn & Associates in Chicago. "Maybe we need to get prices back to where we can do a little bit more export business," Linn said.
Soybean futures bucked the weaker trend, rallying on hopes that a mid-May meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping could lead to renewed U.S. soybean export sales to China, by far the world's largest buyer of the oilseed.
"It's the possibility of a balance-sheet-altering trade with China," Linn said of the upturn in CBOT soybean futures. "That is still on the table," Linn said.
Brokers await the U.S. Department of Agriculture's monthly supply and demand report due to be released on Thursday, as well as weekly U.S. export sales data.
