Chicago wheat, soybean retreat on profit-taking; corn little changed

Chicago Board of Trade(CBOT) wheat, soybeans futures plunged on Wednesday as speculators took profits from sharp rally in the previous session amid improving weather forecasts in the U.S. Midwest, while corn was little changed.

The most active corn contract for December delivery added 0.25 cents, or 0.06 percent, to close at 4.3175 U.S. dollars per bushel. September wheat delivery lost 27.25 cents, or 4.43 percent, to close at 5.885 dollars per bushel. November soybeans shed 7.75 cents, or 0.75 percent, to close at 10.295 dollars per bushel.

Chicago wheat fell more than 4 percent on Wednesday, with traders and analysts locking in profit after September wheat jumped by more than 25 percent since June 20, amid speculation that excessive rainfall in the Midwest will damage crops and delay the pace of the harvest.

Meanwhile, the Global Forecast System predicts much favorable weather conditions for rain-sodden areas of the Midwest, also dampening wheat futures.

"Index funds, speculative funds and those short combined to push CBOT corn, soybean and wheat futures far above what would be called fundamental fair value," said AgResource company, a Chicago- based agricultural research institute.

The weekly ethanol production report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed a moderate fall in production and stocks, which was seen as neutral to corn futures which little budged in the day. U.S. ethanol production through the week ending June 26 was down 2.6 percent from the prior week, to 968,000 barrels per day.