CHICAGO: US soyabean futures declined on Monday on favorable crop weather in South America and position-squaring as traders waited to see if a US-Chinese trade agreement due to be signed this week will herald a significant increase in demand for US crops.

Wheat futures also fell, down from multi-month highs set last week, while corn futures rose, with the most-active March

contract reaching a one-week top as brokers covered short positions.

As of 12:59 p.m. CST (1859 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade March soyabean futures were down 4-1/2 cents at $9.41-1/2 per bushel. March wheat was down 2-1/4 cents at $5.62-1/4. March corn was up 3-1/2 cents at $3.89-1/4 a bushel.

China’s Vice Premier Liu He will visit Washington to sign the so-called Phase 1 trade accord with the United States, with a ceremony scheduled for Wednesday.

The agreement, first announced a month ago, helped CBOT soyabeans rally to their highest since June 2018 at the start of January as it raised hopes that China, the world’s biggest soyabean importer, would revive imports of US supplies.

Beneficial weekend rains in Brazil’s crop belt weighed on CBOT futures by fueling expectations of a large South American soya harvest, Linn said, adding that Brazil’s currency was at a one-month low, encouraging Brazilian farmers to sell dollar-denominated soyabeans.

Wheat slipped on profit-taking after the CBOT March contract on Friday reached $5.68-1/2, the contract’s highest in six months. However, rising global cash wheat prices lent underlying support.

Corn bucked the weak trend, with futures rising on technical buying and optimism about how the US-China trade deal might affect exports. Commodity funds hold a net short position in CBOT corn futures, leaving the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering.—Reuters