Grain Futures Prices Mixed

Corn and soybean futures prices were mostly lower and wheat was mostly higher Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Soybeans were under pressure from harvest progress, and the contract for delivery in November fell beneath $5 a bushel for the first time in nine years. Harvesting also put pressure on corn prices, analysts said.

The strength of the U.S. dollar pressured grains, as it discouraged buying of American products on European markets, said Dale Gustafson, a grain analyst in Chicago with Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Wheat prices were supported by a report from the Agriculture Department that Algeria purchased 300,000 tons of U.S. wheat under the export bonus program. Some traders expect the USDA to announced the eligibility of additional countries for the export bonus program as well, Gustafson said.

Concern about the closing of the St. Lawrence Seaway because of the collapse of a concrete wall in a lock prevented major buying, however, as exporters will have to delay taking delivery on wheat destined for export through the Great Lakes.