Commodities : Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1987. Prices as of 12:45 p.m. : Corn and Soybeans Move Lower

While most corn and soybean futures fell Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade, they resisted the full bearish impact of the Agriculture Department’s first crop production report of the season.

On other markets, cotton futures were sharply higher; oil was mostly a little lower; most livestock and meat futures were higher, and precious metals were mixed.

The corn and bean losses were much milder than some observers had predicted after the USDA released its report late Tuesday, showing larger corn and soybean yields than expected.

“The markets were a big surprise,” said Victor Lespinasse, a trader with Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. “They closed lower, but they were very firm compared to what was expected.”

Commercial buying and purchases to close out earlier sale contracts kept the markets from slipping badly, he said.

“A lot of people apparently don’t believe the report,” said Lespinasse. “They think the numbers are too big.”

Most oil futures prices retreated slightly on the New York Mercantile Exchange despite industry supply-demand data viewed as positive for the market.