CHICAGO, Illinois (Agriculture.com)--With a sharply lower close Thursday, the CME Group corn price has dropped 14% since Friday's all-time high. Wheat and soybean markets have followed corn lower, as profit-taking and world economic concerns pushing up the dollar put pressure on farm markets, traders say.

The July corn futures settled 24 1/4 cents lower at $7.01 1/2, down 14% from last Friday's record-high price. The July soybean contract closed 17 1/4 cents lower at $13.50 1/2. The July wheat futures ended 35 1/4 cents lower at $6.73 1/4. The soybean meal futures settled $6.30 per short ton lower at $353.70 and soyoil futures closed $0.73 lower at $56.32.

In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil is $0.10 per barrel lower, the dollar is higher and the Dow Jones Industrials are up 22 points.

On Thursday, Informa Economics estimated the U.S. 2011 corn acres at 90.613 million, down 1.2 million from its March estimate. The corn yield estimate is pegged at 163.8 bushels per acre vs. the USDA's latest estimate of 158.7. Meanwhile, the private firm estimates U.S. 2011 soybean acres at 77.394 million, up 1.1 million from March

Jack Scoville, PRICE Futures Group vice-president, says Informa's new acreage estimates were a little friendly to the corn and wheat I think, and possible the soybeans as well. "However, some follow-through spec-selling occurred Thursday. Even guys that bought yesterday are out today," Scoville says.  

Scoville adds, "We have done enough damage to the charts, though, and some type of recovery is possible today and tomorrow.  But who knows.  The weather is perceived to be better and people seem to be in a liquidation mode. So, we might not hold at all.  But we probably should. Still spec-selling here and very little commercial interest that I can find anywhere, for buying."