SINGAPORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. soybeans drifted lower on Thursday as traders locked in profit after prices scaled eight-month highs in the previous session on the prospect that lower South American supplies will lift demand for U.S. soybeans.
Corn and wheat futures also softened in line with a broader retreat across commodities markets on Thursday that included crude oil and U.S. natural gas. The U.S. dollar index gained.
Soybeans have been the most active crop market in recent days as downward revisions to crop estimates in South America have spurred traders and analysts to raise demand projections for U.S. supplies for later this year.
The most-active soybean contract gained 15% year-to-date to scale an eight-month top of $15.64 per bushel on Wednesday, before retreating to around $15.35-1/4 a bushel, down 0.65%, as of 0720 GMT.
Most active wheat was down 0.86% at $7.48-1/2 a bushel. Corn was 0.56% lower at $6.19 a bushel.
Beyond the status of South American soy crops, grain traders are closely tracking the Ukraine-Russia situation after the United States said it will send nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to shield Eastern Europe from a potential spillover from the crisis over the massing of Russian troops near Ukraine, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
Global grain flows could be affected by any military conflict in Ukraine or resulting sanctions imposition on Russia given the Black Sea's status as a key wheat export hub.
So far this year, flows have been uninterrupted, with Ukraine exporting 38.6 million tonnes of grain so far in the 2021/22 July-June season, up 31.6% from the same stage a season earlier.
Traders are also closely tracking U.S. crop exports, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is scheduled to issues its weekly report at 7:30 am CST (1330 GMT) Thursday.
Elsewhere, India plans to buy 1 million tonnes of potash from Belarus in the first such bilateral deal between the two countries after sanctions crippled Minsk's ability to sell the crop nutrient, two Indian officials involved in the discussions told Reuters. (Reporting by Gavin Maguire; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
