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Grains - U.S. Soy Falls On Position Squaring; Corn, Wheat Also Weak

U.S. soybean futures fell on Wednesday in the second straight day of declines as investors evened out positions and locked in profits from monthly gains, traders said. 
 
Wheat futures also fell, pressured by a firm dollar that further dimmed prospects for U.S. supplies on the export market. 
 
Corn was steady to slightly weaker, with bargain buying limiting declines but plentiful supplies following a record harvest continuing to weigh on the market. 
 
Soybeans fell after trading higher during the overnight trading session as speculators unwound some bullish bets they made during the past few months. 
 
"Realistically, it is a little bit of month-end position squaring," said Bill Gentry a broker at Risk Management Commodities. "The funds were pretty long the bean market and there is not much incentive to push them higher just yet." 
 
Chicago Board of Trade January soybean futures settled down 10-1/4 cents at $10.32-1/4 a bushel. 
 
Traders shrugged off fresh signs that export demand for soybeans remained robust. 
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday morning said that private exporters reported the sale of 123,000 tonnes of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2016-17 marketing year. It was the first spot sale since Nov. 18. 
 
The soybean market also ignored sharp gains in crude oil prices, which typically are supportive to soybeans. 
 
Oil prices rose nearly 9 percent on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia's oil minister said OPEC members meeting in Vienna were close to a deal on a production cut, with non-OPEC members also likely to reduce output. 
 
CBOT March corn futures were down 1/2 cent at $3.48-1/2 a bushel while CBOT March soft red winter wheat was 6 cents lower at $4.02-3/4 a bushel.
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