Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities closed all lower on Tuesday amid fears about China's declining crop import after the country's currency, known as renminbi, fell sharply.
The most active corn contract for December delivery lost 13.5 cents, or 3.37 percent, to close at 3.875 U.S. dollars per bushel. September wheat delivery shed 18.25 cents, or 3.47 percent, to close at 5.0725 dollars per bushel. November soybeans fell 23 cents, or 2.31 percent, to close at 9.715 dollars per bushel.
People's Bank of China performed a one-off depreciation of the Chinese yuan on Tuesday, as part of a free-market reform.
Following the change, the central parity rate of the yuan weakened sharply to 6.2298 against the U.S. dollar compared to 6. 1162 on Monday, down nearly 2 percent, a record low since April 2013.
China is one of the world's largest importers of grains and the country's currency decision raised concerns about its crop demand. Analysts believe that a weaker Yuan is a headwind for grains, as it makes it a little bit more expensive for Chinese importers and customers.
Later Monday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ( USDA) said the condition of U.S. corn through the week ending Aug. 9, were unchanged from the prior week, close to the level seen last year.
For soybeans, the crop condition was little changed from the previous week, and also well below the level a year ago, according the USDA. In wheat, 94 percent of the U.S. winter wheat crop has been harvested, higher than a 90 percent average of the last five years.
