CHICAGO, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities closed lower on Friday as traders managed to lock in profits before a prolonged weekend.
The most active corn contract for March delivery edged down 0.25 cent, or 0.07 percent to settle at 3.675 dollars per bushel. March wheat delivery went down four cents, or 0.87 percent to close at 4.5775 dollars per bushel. March soybeans fell 2.75 cents, or 0.27 percent to settle at 10.215 dollars per bushel.
Deepening drought in Argentina and dryness in southern U.S. plains had pushed up CBOT soybean and wheat futures very high. The prices started to drop on Friday morning amid profit-taking, ahead of a three-day weekend in the U.S. as CBOT will be closed on Monday, the President's Day.
The prices of CBOT corn futures were almost unchanged on Friday.
Meanwhile, the weak U.S. dollar rebounded on Friday, with the U.S. dollar index rising 0.57 percent to reach 89.13 as of 2212 GMT. If the dollar continues to rally, it will affect the competitiveness of U.S. agricultural products in international market.
