CHICAGO, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures pulled back on Thursday after rising to a four-month high on concerns that unfavorable dryness could trim production in crop-growing areas of South America, analysts said.
Corn futures remained close to a nearly six-month high reached on Wednesday amid worries about weather risks and forecasts that show little rain in the coming days in southern Brazil and Argentina.
A La Nina weather pattern, which typically causes dryness in parts of Brazil and Argentina, has taken hold and is likely to remain through the winter, said Jake Hanley, managing director of Teucrium Trading.
"The fact that we are in the midst of another La Nina, no matter how strong, is understandably keeping the trade on edge," he said in a note.
The most-active soybean contract was down 1-1/2 cents at $13.33-1/2 per bushel by 10:45 a.m. CST (1645 GMT), after advancing earlier in the session to $13.40-1/2, its highest since Aug. 19.
CBOT corn was 2 cents higher at $6.04-1/2 a bushel, near Wednesday's 5-1/2 month peak of $6.06-3/4.
Crop losses in South America could tighten global supplies and shift export demand to the United States.
U.S. exporters in the week ended Dec. 16 sold 811,500 tonnes of soybeans for 2021/2022, a marketing-year low, and 1,000 tonnes for 2022/2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a weekly report. Total sales were on the lower side of analysts' estimates that ranged from 700,000 to 1.85 million tonnes.
Total weekly old-crop and new-crop U.S. export sales were 1.1 million tonnes for corn, compared with estimates for 725,000 to 1.45 million tonnes, and 458,400 tonnes for U.S. wheat, within estimates for 200,000 to 575,000 tonnes.
CBOT wheat was down 3-1/2 cents at $8.10-1/2 a bushel, after rising earlier to its highest price since Dec. 3 at $8.20-1/2. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago, Gus Trompiz in Paris and Emily Chow in Beijing; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Dan Grebler)
