DES MOINES, Iowa (Agriculture.com)--China canceling U.S. soybean purchases, combined with weak grain demand settled the CME Group corn, soybean, and wheat markets lower Tuesday.

The March futures corn contract settled 4 cents lower at $7.20. The January soybean futures contract ended 30 cents lower at $14.66. March wheat futures finished 3 cents higher at $8.11 per bushel. The January soyoil futures contract ended 62 cents lower at $49.17. The January soymeal futures contract ended $10.50 per short ton lower at $444.90. In the outside markets, the NYMEX crude oil is 72 cents per barrel higher, the dollar is lower, and the Dow Jones Industrials are 104 points higher.

Alan Brugler, president of Brugler Marketing & Management LLC, says today's price action is mostly about money moving around before year end. "Some positioning ahead of the asset allocation moves by the big index funds in January, such as buying KC wheat and soybean meal while selling soybeans, bean oil, and Chicago wheat," Brugler says. What about a Santa Claus rally for the grain markets? Is it real? "The 30-year trend has a Santa Claus rally in March corn, but the three correlated years, with price action most tightly correlated to this year, drop lower to to the holiday and then rally at year end," he says.