GRAINS-Corn falls from 7-month high on protectionist trade fears

SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures edged lower on Wednesday, retreating from a seven-month high on market fears of rising U.S protectionism due to the dismissal of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the possibility of more import tariffs against China. FUNDAMENTALS * The most active corn futures on the Chicago Board Of Trade fell 0.5 percent to $3.90 a bushel by 0042 GMT, having firmed 0.3 percent on Tuesday when prices hit $3.95-1/4 a bushel, the highest since July 2017. * The most active soybean futures were down 0.3 percent at $10.45-1/2 a bushel after closing up 0.7 percent in the previous session. * The most active wheat futures were down 0.5 percent at $4.84 a bushel. * South Korean importers bought over 1 million tonnes of corn in the past week, much of it from the United States, European traders said. * The U.S. Department of Agriculture separately announced a sale of 210,000 tonnes to South Korea of corn that could be U.S. grain or shipped from another country. * Corn and soybeans were supported as dry weather across Argentina is expected to trim production. MARKET NEWS * The dollar fell against most major currencies on Tuesday after U.S. inflation data for February was in line with expectations, suggesting the Federal Reserve remained on track to raise interest rates at a gradual pace. * Oil prices stabilised early on Wednesday after posting two days of falls at the start of the week. * Wall Street's major indexes fell on Tuesday as the dismissal of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the possibility of additional U.S. import tariffs against China dragged down stocks across sectors. DATA AHEAD (GMT) 0200 China Industrial output Feb 0200 China Commodities output Feb 0200 China Retail sales Feb 0200 China Urban investment Feb 1000 Euro zone Industrial production Jan 1230 U.S. Retail sales Feb 1400 U.S. Business inventories Jan Grains prices at 0042 GMT Contract Last Change Pct chg Two-day chg MA 30 RSI CBOT wheat 484.00 -2.50 -0.51% -1.38% 478.35 52 CBOT corn 390.00 -1.75 -0.45% -0.19% 378.49 74 CBOT soy 1045.50 -3.25 -0.31% +0.43% 1033.73 49 CBOT rice 12.27 $0.00 +0.00% -0.28% $12.42 39 WTI crude 60.85 $0.14 +0.23% -0.83% $62.00 41 Currencies Euro/dlr $1.239 $0.000 +0.00% +0.46% USD/AUD 0.7859 0.000 +0.03% -0.17% Most active contracts Wheat, corn and soy US cents/bushel. Rice: USD per hundredweight RSI 14, exponential (Reporting by Colin Packham; editing by Richard Pullin)

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