Corn and wheat dropped on concerns that Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis will worsen and dent the outlook for the global economy, damping demand for grains. Soybeans also declined. December-delivery corn fell as much as 1.7 percent to $7.4725 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and traded at $7.505 by 10:57 a.m. in Singapore. Futures climbed 15 percent last month, extending this year’s gain to 20 percent. European equities slumped yesterday after an election loss for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party boosted concern that opposition to bailouts of Europe’s indebted nations may increase. U.S. stock futures fell today, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may slide for a third day. Gold surged to within 0.6 percent of the record $1,913.50 an ounce reached Aug. 23 as investors seek a protection of wealth, diversifying away from equities and some currencies. “The movements we’ve had in the grain markets simply reflect a catch-up to the global risk-off appetite that has swept through the financial markets over the past couple of sessions,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said by phone from Sydney. “The agricultural markets, despite the fact that supplies are tight, have currently been caught up in that selling pressure.” The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 4.1 percent to 223.45 yesterday as all 19 industry groups dropped. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in September fell as much as 2.8 percent today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.7 percent, heading for a third day of declines. U.S. markets were closed for Labor Day yesterday. Wheat for December delivery slumped 1 percent to $7.67 a bushel, after gaining 11 percent last month. Soybeans for November delivery fell 1.3 percent to $14.275 a bushel. The oilseed advanced 1.6 percent last week. To contact the reporter for this story: Phoebe Sedgman in Melbourne at psedgman2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net

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