Soybean eases

SINGAPORE: Chicago soybean futures edged lower on Wednesday as the market took a breather after climbing to its highest in six months on concerns over heavy rains damaging the crop in Argentina.

Corn dipped after rallying almost 2 percent on Tuesday while wheat was little changed.

The Chicago Board Of Trade most-active soybean contract slid 0.4 percent to $10.64-1/2 a bushel by 0244 GMT.

The market firmed 2.2 percent on Tuesday, hitting a high of $10.75-1/2 a bushel, strongest since July 15. Corn fell 0.1 percent to $3.65 a bushel, having gained 1.9 percent in the previous session and wheat rose 0.1 percent to $4.33-3/4 a bushel, having closed up 1.8 percent on Tuesday.

Hard rains inundated key Argentina soybean-growing areas over the weekend, local farm experts said on Monday, raising doubts about production in a year that has already seen a reduction in soy planting as growers tend more toward corn.

The market is trying to ascertain the damage to Argentina´s soybean crop with some experts estimating losses as high as 10 percent of the output, or roughly 147 million bushels.