BLBG:Wheat Declines on Speculation Rain May Help U.S. Winter Sowing, Corn Falls
Wheat futures declined for a second day in Chicago on speculation rain forecast for parts of the U.S. may add to soil moisture needed to plant the winter crop. Rice climbed to the highest level since October 2008.
December-delivery wheat lost as much as 1.4 percent to $7.8425 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, and was at $7.8875 by 2:19 p.m. Singapore time.
Recent rains hit parts of the Midwest including Nebraska, north Kansas, Iowa and Missouri, Telvent DTN Inc. said in a report yesterday. There is a chance of showers in the winter- wheat areas in the central and southern plains next week, it said.
“The latest weather reports suggest some of the driest U.S. hard red winter wheat regions will get period rainfall over the next 10 days,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a report e-mailed today. While the total rainfall may not be large, “any improvement in soil moisture will be welcome” ahead of the planting period, he said.
Corn for December delivery fell as much as 0.8 percent to $7.6425 a bushel in Chicago, before trading at $7.6475. Soybeans for November delivery slipped as much as 0.7 percent to $14.37 a bushel, and last traded at $14.3875.
Rough-rice for November delivery gained as much as 0.9 percent to $17.695 per 100 pounds. It was at $17.59 at 2:21 p.m. Singapore time.
Futures surged 53 percent in the past year, as production in the U.S., the world’s fourth-largest shipper of the grain, is forecast to slump by the most since 1984, while Thailand, the world’s largest exporter, plans to buy the grain from farmers at above-market prices.
“Crop damage in many countries around the globe is happening at the same time Thailand plans to buy paddy rice from farmers above market prices, driving the rally,” said Kiattisak Kanlayasirivat, director at Novel Commodities SA’s Thai office.
To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net
