Soybeans plummet to four-year low on Brazil crop outlook
Soybeans hit new contract lows on sunny Brazilian crop forecast
Wheat chopped up and down as traders assessed global crop conditions
Corn ticks down on spillover weakness from soy
Updates with market open, adds bullets
By Heather Schlitz
CHICAGO, Dec 18 (Reuters) -Chicago soybean futures fell to a four-year low on Wednesday, pressured by bumper crop prospects in Brazil and a slide in soyoil prices after a proposed U.S. government spending bill failed to include support for biodiesel, traders said.
Corn futures followed soybeans lower, while wheat seesawed as traders weighed a cut to Russian wheat production estimates against strong harvests in Australia and Argentina.
A stronger dollar, buoyed by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, has also weighed on U.S. grain and soy futures.
The most-active soybean contract Sv1 on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 24 cents to $9.52-1/2 a bushel as of 1800 GMT, after hitting $9.54-1/4 a bushel, its lowest point since September 2020.
Each soybean contract hit a lifetime low during Tuesday and Wednesday's session.
In Brazil, the world's biggest soybean producer and exporter, regular rain has eased drought and put the country on course for a record crop of 171.5 million metric tons, consultants AgRural said on Monday.
Soybeans were further dented by sharp losses for soyoil after news on Tuesday that a stopgap U.S. government funding bill did not include support for biodiesel among other agriculture-related policies and spending.
Technical selling has also further propelled soybeans downward.
"It's a technical break that's attracting more selling as we go lower," Joe Davis, trader at Futures International, said.
CBOT corn Cv1 was down 5-3/4 cents to $4.37-3/4 a bushel as it came under pressure from weakness in soybeans.
CBOT wheat Wv1 was down 3 cents at $5.42 a bushel.
Consultants Sovecon cut their forecast for 2025 wheat production in Russia by 3 million metric tons to 78.7 million tons, citing that crop conditions were the worst in decades.
However, ongoing harvests in Argentina and Australia have exceeded expectations and pressured global prices.
Reporting by Heather Schlitz in Chicago. Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Aurora Ellis
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