CHICAGO, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) crop futures settled lower on Tuesday amid increasing concerns over falling demand.
The most active corn contract for December delivery was down 2.25 cents, or 0.54 percent to 4.125 U.S. dollars per bushel. September wheat was down 10.5 cents, or 2.12 percent to 4.84 dollars per bushel. November soybeans were down 3 cents, or 0.35 percent to 8.6575 dollars per bushel.
China's Ministry of Commerce said on Monday that related Chinese companies have halted purchases of U.S. farm produce.
The move came after the U.S. side announced plans to impose additional 10-percent tariffs on 300 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese imports, which seriously violated the consensus reached by the two countries' heads of state in Osaka, Japan.
Following Monday's announcement, the United States now lacks a "big buyer" for its goods, commented AgResource, a Chicago-based Agricultural research firm.
"U.S. agricultural export demand looks to remain sparse and domestic demand is not a lasting price driver," it added in a market analysis.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday released the latest export inspection data, showing inspected and weighed volumes of corn, wheat and soybeans for export all fell in the week ending Aug. 1, compared with the previous seven days.
According to another USDA crop progress report, 82 percent of U.S. winter wheat has been harvested as of Aug. 4, with 8 out of 18 winter wheat growing states have finished their harvest.
Meanwhile, 73 percent of spring wheat was rated in good/excellent condition, the same as previous week.
More supplies, good crop conditions, plus a stronger U.S. dollar, gave additional pressure to CBOT wheat futures, said market analysts. Enditem
