Corn rose for a fifth day in Chicago, the longest streak since December, as wet weather delays sowing from North Dakota to Ohio. Wheat gained for a third day as a lack of rain in growing countries hurts yields. About 63 percent of the U.S. corn crop was sown as of May 15, behind the five-year average of 75 percent, the Department of Agriculture said May 16. April was the second-hottest since 1900 in France, Europe’s biggest wheat grower, and England’s warmest in 352 years, curbing yields along with dry weather in China and Germany. “All of these weather events are coming together,” said Erin FitzPatrick, an analyst at Rabobank International in London. “They’re making planting progress in the States, but they’re still behind the five-year average and last year’s pace. Canada’s planting is delayed and Russia’s is delayed. The EU is still dry, especially in France, and there’s some dryness in China.” Corn for July delivery rose 6.75 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $7.27 a bushel by 10:55 a.m. London time on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices are up 7.3 percent since trading ended on May 11 and yesterday climbed 3.3 percent, the most since April 29. The grain more than doubled in the past year. Early Harvesting Wheat crops in the U.S. Great Plains are showing signs that production may plunge more than the government forecast last week as hot weather and a lack of rain erode plant quality and force farmers to harvest early. As of May 15, U.S. winter wheat was in the worst condition since 1996, with 44 percent of fields rated poor or very poor by the government. Wheat for July delivery gained 9 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $7.73 a bushel. The grain rose 3.7 percent yesterday, the most since May 9, and jumped 65 percent in the past year on concerns that adverse weather would affect harvests. The USDA forecast on May 11 that the country’s production of hard, red winter wheat would drop 25 percent to 762 million bushels, the smallest amount since 2006. Milling wheat for November delivery traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris rose 3.50 euros, or 1.5 percent, to 235 euros ($334.75) a metric ton. The worst drought in 50 years in the central Chinese province of Hubei is slowing planting of spring crops and limiting drinking water for half a million people, a local government agency said. The region has had the least precipitation on record since autumn, Hubei’s Department of Water Resources said. Soybeans for July delivery climbed 3.5 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $13.445 a bushel in Chicago, extending yesterday’s 1.1 percent gain, the biggest since April 29. The oilseed rose 43 percent in the past year. To contact the reporters on this story: Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net; Tony C. Dreibus in London at tdreibus@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net

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