* Corn futures weaken on technical selling
* Traders keep eye out for Thursday's USDA export sales report
* Hefty global supplies weigh on wheat futures
CHICAGO March 13 (Reuters) -
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures eased on technical selling on Wednesday, as market participants sought profits and assessed U.S. spring planting, analysts said.
U.S. farmers plan to reduce corn plantings by about 1.2% this year, and expand their soybean plantings by about 2.7%, according to
a survey issued
on Wednesday by commodity brokerage Allendale.
The shifts in acreage come as grower incomes are expected to decline this year as corn, soybean and wheat CBOT futures have dropped to their lowest levels in more than three years.
Corn futures also faced pressure from reports of hot, dry weather in Brazil that could deplete the country's second corn crop, and Brazilian crop agency CONAB
lowered its projections
, traders said.
Meanwhile, CBOT wheat futures drifted lower on
hefty global supplies
and spillover weakness in the corn market, traders said.
Soy futures firmed late in the session, ending the day up, after reports that Argentina's main agricultural area will likely
receive more precipitation
, adding to already significant recent rainfall and could leave fields too wet for harvesting in some areas.
Short positions held by investors have made grains prone to waves of short-covering, too.
Still, traders spent much of the day "just hopping back and forth and looking for direction," said Jack Scoville, vice president of the Price Futures Group.
Most-active CBOT corn settled down 1/2-cent at $4.41-1/4 a bushel, while wheat was down 3-1/4 cents at $5.44-1/4 a bushel after reaching a one-week high on Tuesday.
CBOT soybean settled up 3/4-cent at $11.96-3/4 a bushel. (Reporting by Heather Schlitz. Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Peter Hobson in Canberra; Editing by Sohini Goswami, Barbara Lewis and Toby Chopra)
