BLBG:Soybeans Drop as Slowing World Economy Curbs Demand; Corn Falls
Soybeans fell to a three-week low after a government report showed a drop in overseas demand for supplies from the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter. Corn declined.
Sales of soybeans in the week ended Nov. 1 plunged 75 percent from a week earlier and corn sales dropped 6.1 percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today. The dollar rose to a two-month high against a basket of six currencies after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said growth will stay weak. A stronger dollar erodes the appeal of commodities.
“U.S. exports are slowing,” Jacquie Voeks, a senior market adviser for West Bend, Wisconsin-based Stewart Peterson Group, said in a telephone interview. “The economic environment in not conducive for grain market investors.”
Soybean futures for January delivery dropped 0.7 percent to close at $14.9575 a bushel at 2 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, after touching $14.93, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 17. The oilseed has fallen 16 percent since reaching a record $17.89 in September after rains pared yield losses in the U.S. caused by the worst drought since 1956.
Corn futures for December delivery declined 0.4 percent to $7.4125 a bushel on the CBOT, after gaining 1.2 percent during the prior two sessions. Prices have dropped 13 percent since touching a record $8.49 on Aug. 10 as demand slowed from meat and fuel producers.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $76.5 billion in 2011, followed by soybeans at $35.8 billion, government figures 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
