Investing.com - U.S. corn and soybean futures traded near the lowest level in four years on Thursday, as expectations of record yields across much of the U.S. grain belt continued to weigh.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, U.S. corn for December delivery inched up 0.11%, or 3.8 cents, to trade at $3.5238 a bushel during U.S. morning hours.
A day earlier, corn prices tumbled 3.23%, or 11.6 cents, to settle at $3.5200 a bushel after a pair of private-sector reports reinforced expectations for a record harvest.
Prices fell to a four-year low of $3.4800 a bushel on August 12 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the corn harvest at 14.03 billion bushels, which would break last year's record of 13.93 billion.
The agency also said it expected average corn yields of 167.4 bushels per acre, above an all-time high of 164.7 in 2009.
Meanwhile, U.S. soybeans for November delivery dipped 0.06%, or 0.57 cents, to trade at $10.1863 a bushel.
The November soy contract fell to $10.1240 a bushel on Wednesday, a level not seen since September 2010, as ongoing expectations for a record U.S. harvest weighed.
According to the USDA, this fall's U.S. harvest will reach an all-time high of 3.82 billion bushels.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, U.S. wheat for December delivery slumped 0.42%, or 2.27 cents, to trade at $5.3313 a bushel, the lowest since August 14.
A day earlier, wheat futures plunged 3.47%, or 19.2 cents, to settle at $5.3560 a bushel, as continued strength in the U.S. dollar and receding concerns over a disruption to supplies from the Black Sea-region weighed.
A stronger dollar makes domestic wheat less competitive on the world market.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.