CHICAGO - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures turned lower on Thursday, pressured by a stronger ‌dollar and weaker oil prices the day after they reached a two-week peak on a rally driven by talk of Chinese demand.

Wheat and corn also ​dropped as a rebound in grain markets from multi-month lows lost steam, and traders looked to adjust positions ahead of the three-day U.S. holiday weekend. A ​spate ​of U.S. export news in the morning kept a floor under prices, traders said. Exporters sold 132,000 metric tons of U.S. soybeans to China, another 120,000 tons of beans to unknown destinations, and 285,775 tons of corn to Mexico, ⁠the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its daily reporting system. All are for delivery in the 2026/27 marketing year, USDA reported. The pace of Chinese soybean buying remained slower than many traders had hoped, spurring worries that China may not buy the volume of soybeans this year that USDA has reported in its forecasts. It was not surprising that China had returned to the U.S. market as ​prices have dropped.

"They're value-based ‌buyers," said Chuck ⁠Shelby, a market analyst and ⁠broker at Zaner Ag Hedge. "With the break in prices, it makes sense that they would be looking to get more for their money." Going into ​next week, traders were expected to look at updates from USDA crop condition reports for signs ‌of stress in the Midwestern corn and soybean crop, Shelby said. Recent heavy rainfall ⁠across eastern Iowa, central Illinois and Indiana, and parts of Ohio has left farmers unable to spray or apply fertilizer nitrogens, and excess water can damage plant health.

"When you start looking at total rainfalls in these areas for the month of June, you're going to see that there's been an excessive amount," Shelby said. "So I would anticipate crop rating conditions to start falling." The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade settled down 6-1/2 cents at $11.42-3/4 a bushel. The benchmark contract hit a two-week high on Wednesday as it recovered from a four-month low on Monday. CBOT wheat fell 7-1/4 cents to $6.14 a bushel, while CBOT corn ended down 3-1/2 cents at $4.17-1/2 per bushel.

Chicago markets will be closed on Friday for the Juneteenth holiday. The dollar index ‌rose to a one-year high after a Federal Reserve policy meeting reinforced expectations for ⁠U.S. interest rate hikes this year. A stronger dollar makes U.S. commodities more expensive for ​overseas buyers. Crude oil fell to its lowest since the start of the Iran war as an interim deal to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz boosted the global supply outlook. Meanwhile, a rise in Russian attacks on Ukrainian seaports and vessels could cut monthly ​grain shipments by ‌as much as a third and has left terminal operators facing mounting losses they say they cannot ⁠cover alone, officials and industry executives said.