CHICAGO, Jan 17 (Reuters) -
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures were nearly flat on Wednesday after expectations for increased global supplies kicked the market to a three-year low, analysts said.
Soybean futures slumped near a two-year low, while wheat futures recovered from a seven-week low set on Tuesday.
Corn remained under pressure after the U.S. government on Friday raised its U.S. yield estimate to a record high and said quarterly stocks in December were up 13% from a year earlier.
Gains in the U.S. dollar and a risk-off trading mentality also hung over the agricultural markets, said Matt Wiegand, commodity broker for FuturesOne. The dollar index hit a one-month high, making U.S. farm products look less attractive to importers.
"You've had a massive dollar spike to start the week," Wiegand. "That's certainly not helping."
Most-active corn futures were unchanged at $4.43-1/2 a bushel by 11:15 a.m. CST (1715 GMT) after falling earlier to $4.40, the lowest level since December 2020.
Soybean futures tumbled 18-1/2 cents to $12.08-3/4 a bushel and traded near Friday's two-year low of $12.03. Wheat was up 4 cents at $5.86 a bushel at the CBOT.
Improved rains in South American growing areas loomed over the markets by boosting supply outlooks for soybean and corn crops there, analysts said. However, analysts are continuing to cut forecasts for Brazil's harvests due to earlier drought damage.
An analyst at Argentina's Rosario grains exchange said production forecasts for the country - currently at 52 million metric tons for soybeans and 59 million tons for corn - would likely continue to rise.
"Expectations of big crops in South America have got everyone running for the hills," said Ole Houe at IKON Commodities in Sydney.
For the wheat market, international import tenders boosted hopes for demand, analysts said. Egypt is seeking wheat in a tender. Algeria is believed to have purchased up to 900,000 metric tons of milling wheat, and Tunisia purchased soft wheat and durum. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago. Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Tasim Zahid)
