Corn futures advanced on concern hot weather will persist in parts of the U.S., the world’s largest producer and exporter, adding to concerns about crop conditions that have worsened in the past week. Wheat also gained. December delivery corn climbed as much as 1.5 percent to $6.87 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade before trading at $6.8275 a bushel at 9:47 a.m. Singapore time. The National Weather Service yesterday issued an excessive heat watch, with temperatures feeling hotter than 105 Fahrenheit (41 Celsius), for parts of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky. Corn crop yields may be reduced in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas amid high temperatures and low rainfall, according to Commodity Weather Group. Hot weather “is a bad influence on crop conditions that you can’t avoid even with recent rainfall,” Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager for research at IDO Securities Co. Ltd. said from Tokyo. Prices may keep rising as hot, dry weather threatens yields in the U.S., he said. Iowa and Illinois, which are among the states affected by the extreme heat wave, are the two largest growers in the U.S., accounting for 29 percent of the corn area planted and 24 percent of the soybean acreage. About 66 percent of the corn in the top 18 producing states was in good or excellent condition as of July 17, down from 69 percent a week earlier and 72 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday in a report. About 35 percent of the plants were beginning to reproduce, up from 14 percent a week earlier. Soybeans, Wheat Soybeans for November delivery slipped 0.3 percent to $13.8275 a bushel in Chicago after gaining 0.4 percent. An estimated 64 percent of the soybean crop got the top ratings, compared with 66 percent a week earlier and 67 percent a year earlier. About 40 percent of the plants were beginning to flower, up from 21 percent a week earlier, the USDA said. Wheat for September delivery rose for the first time in four sessions, gaining as much as 1.1 percent to $6.9675 a bushel, before trading at $6.9225. “The export renewal of Russia is a bear factor,” Kikukawa said. U.S. soft-red winter wheat was priced at $281.70 a metric ton, not including shipping from the Gulf Coast, compared with Russian soft milling wheat, which was selling on July 15 for $212.50 a ton, and Class 3 Ukraine soft milling varieties, which were priced at $241 a ton, the U.K. Home-Grown Cereals Association said in a report yesterday. To contact the reporter on this story： Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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