PHOTO
PARIS/SINGAPORE - Chicago wheat futures fell on Wednesday, consolidating after a day-earlier rally sparked by renewed concerns over a Black Sea deal, while corn and soybeans also eased as markets assessed the weather outlook for U.S. crops.
A firm dollar and weakness in some financial markets, as investors fretted about stalled talks to raise a U.S. government debt ceiling, weighed on sentiment, traders said.
The most active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 1.3% by 1215 GMT at $6.14 a bushel.
The contract had climbed 2.6% on Tuesday, rebounding from a two-year low.
The rally came after Ukraine accused Russia of cutting the port of Pivdennyi out of a deal allowing safe Black Sea grain exports, creating uncertainty over the status of the accord that had been extended last Wednesday for two more months.
However, ample supplies in Russia - underscored by falling prices, a planned revision of its export tax, and favourable harvest prospects - continued to cap wheat prices, traders said.
Latest weather forecasts were showing a greater chance of rain in parts of the central United States and Canada, though the eastern Midwest was set to stay dry into early June.
The dry spell has raised early worries about summer drought, though for now it has aided spring planting.
Bumper harvests in Brazil and tepid import demand from China were also curbing corn and soybean markets.
Brazilian farmers will reap a large second corn crop in spite of planting some of it outside the ideal growing window, according to data released on Tuesday.
In China, a surplus of cheap wheat is curbing consumption of both corn and soymeal, according to feed makers and analysts.
CBOT soybeans ticked down 0.3% to $13.19 a bushel while corn was down 0.2% at $5.76-1/2 a bushel.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Matthew Chye in Singapore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Christina Fincher)