Chicago agricultural commodities drop overall

Chicago agricultural commodities dropped across the board Wednesday, led by wheat. The most active corn contract for March delivery dropped 4.5 cents, or 1.04 percent, to close at 4.275 dollars per bushel. March wheat lost 14.5 cents, or 2.56 percent, to close at 5.515 dollars per bushel. March soybeans shed 16.25 cents, or 1.26 percent, to close at 12.6925 dollars per bushel. March corn dropped Wednesday under pressure spilling over from wheat and soybean. Weekly U.S. ethanol report was also uninspiring, with production and stocks decreasing slightly and production margins slipping. Moreover, extreme cold weather expected in Central U.S. in the next two weeks may cause some ethanol production suspensions, further dampening corn. March wheat dropped heavily Wednesday on new fund sales. Egypt has excluded French wheat from its imports, which may indicate that world wheat are oversupplied, and Egypt can afford excluding one of the world's largest wheat exporters from its sources. Egypt bought some U.S. wheat, but sourced more from the Black Sea areas. There were reports of some soft winter wheat export cancellations as well. March soybean closed sharply lower Wednesday on widespread talk that Chinese soybean cancellations amounted to 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes. Currently, no fresh Chinese demand showed up, while Brazil has begun to ship out its harvest.