CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - Benchmark Chicago wheat futures tumbled to their lowest point in more than three years on Wednesday as an Algerian import tender this week highlighted stiff global export competition from Black Sea grain supplies, traders said.
Soybean futures also declined while corn was mixed in choppy trade. Both markets continue to hover above three-year lows set last week.
As of 11:20 a.m. CST (1720 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade(CBOT) May wheat was down 19-1/2 cents at $5.31-1/2 per bushel after dipping to $5.30-1/4, the lowest on a continuous chart of the most-active wheat contract since August 2020.
CBOT May soybeans were down 4-1/4 cents at $11.44-3/4 per bushel and May corn was down 1/2 cent at $4.25-3/4 a bushel.
Wheat set the tone after Algeria purchased at least 870,000 metric tons on Tuesday, mostly believed to be cheap wheat produced in the Black Sea region.
"As in Europe, competitive pressure from Black Sea wheat is pushing all U.S. wheat down," consultancy Agritel said.
The grain markets sagged despite a weaker dollar and strength in crude oil futures. The dollar slipped to a one-month low against the euro after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said inflation is not quite tamed, though the central bank still expects to reduce its benchmark interest rate later this year.
In Europe, May wheat on Euronext fell to another contract low at 188.25 euros that was also a new 3-1/2-year low for a second-month price.
"It's logical for Algeria to buy a lot at these low prices, but it's not really good news for the market because it looks like merchants had a lot to sell," a European trader said.
Traders await a monthly U.S. government world crop report due Friday for a gauge for South American production. (Reporting by Heather Schlitz; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Mei Mei Chu in Beijing; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
