Soybeans capped the longest rally since July and corn rose to a one-month high on speculation that hot, dry weather is hurting crops in South America. Wheat gained for the fifth straight session. As much as 40 percent of Argentina’s corn-growing region will remain under stress for at least two weeks because overnight rains were lighter than expected, the Commodity Weather Group LLC said in a report. In Brazil, a quarter of the corn and soybean crops will remain under stress after showers in the next four days, the private forecaster said. “The market is adding some weather premium because the crop potential is declining in South America,� Jason Ward, a market analyst for Northstar Commodity Investment Co. in Minneapolis, said in a telephone interview. “The corn and soybean crops are entering the most important period for determining yields.� Soybean futures for March delivery rose 0.7 percent to close at $11.7175 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, the sixth straight gain and the longest rally since July 15. The price earlier touched $11.775, the highest since Nov. 18. Corn futures for March delivery climbed 0.2 percent to $6.175 a bushel on the CBOT, capping the first five-session gain since mid-May. Earlier, the most-active contract jumped as much as 1.4 percent $6.25, the highest since Nov. 18. Record Corn Crop Prices pared gains on speculation that record global production will reduce the impact from a drop in South American output, said Dale Durchholz, the senior market analyst for AgriVisor LLC in Bloomington, Illinois. Global corn output will rise 4.8 percent to 867.5 million metric tons in the season that began Oct. 1, the sixth straight record crop, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Dec. 9. With harvests expanding in Australia, Canada, Russia and Ukraine, world wheat production may rise 5.7 percent to an all- time high, boosting reserve inventories before the 2012 harvest to the highest in 12 years. Corn futures may fall 31 percent to $4.305, according to the median of 24 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. Prices are down 1.8 percent in 2011. The U.S. was the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn and soybeans in the season that ended Sept. 30. The USDA says Brazil will top the U.S. this year as the largest shipper of soybeans. Argentina is the second-biggest corn exporter after the U.S. Wheat futures for March delivery rose 0.8 percent to $6.2175 a bushel, after gaining 6.5 percent the prior four sessions. The grain has fallen 22 percent this year on rising world production and slowing demand for U.S. supplies. Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $66.7 billion in 2010, followed by soybeans at $38.9 billion. Wheat was in fourth place, at $13 billion, behind hay, government data show. To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net

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