英语文摘:Agricultural commodities down with profit taking, demand concerns

CHICAGO, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chicago corn, wheat and soybean futures all fell Monday, as traders worried about sluggish crop export demand and engaged in some profit taking.

The most active corn contract for December delivery fell 7.75 cents, or 0.96 percent, to close at 8.0075 dollars per bushel. December wheat declined 7.25 cents, or 0.82 percent, to settle at 8.8125 dollars per bushel. November soybeans fell 12.75 cents, or 0.74 percent, to close at 17.1875 dollars per bushel.

Agricultural commodities all settled near the day's lows Monday, as some technical selling pulled the markets downward. Traders took advantage of recent high grain prices due to this summer's drought conditions, and engaged in some profit taking.

Outside market forces were mixed, as the day saw weakness in crude oil and U.S. equities, but a lower dollar for most of the session.

This week's approach of tropical storm Isaac was seen by traders as largely mixed force, as the storms will bring much- needed precipitation to the current crops, but also potential damage due to the high winds.

Traders also continue to be concerned with low export demand for U.S. grains, as the high U.S. prices have recently driven buyers such as Egypt to markets like the Black Sea region and South America. U.S. weekly crop inspections for all the grains were lower than those of the previous week.

Corn export inspections for the week ending Aug. 27 were estimated at 14.46 million bushels, down from 21.51 million bushels the previous week.

Wheat weekly export inspections were pegged at 18.88 million bushels, compared to 23.42 million bushels the previous week.

Soybean weekly export inspections were 17.4 million bushels, down from 21.43 million bushels the previous week.