Wheat declined for the first time in three days on speculation that rains forecast for the U.S. Great Plains will probably bring relief to crops affected by limited moisture as the worst drought since the 1930s persists. Wheat for March delivery lost as much as 0.4 percent to $7.765 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $7.7675 by 10:18 a.m. Singapore time. Futures, which climbed 19 percent last year, are down 0.2 percent this month. Some rain and snow was expected in the hard red winter- wheat areas yesterday and today, with heavier rainfall possible from southeast Kansas to eastern Texas, Accuweather.com said in a forecast yesterday. The moisture may give “some short-term dryness relief,� but will do little to ease the drought across much of Nebraska and Kansas, according to the report. “Conditions within the Great Plains of the U.S. still remain very alarming even though there are some forecasts for some scattered precipitation this week,� Luke Mathews, a Sydney-based analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said by phone today. Wheat ratings in Kansas, the biggest U.S. producer of winter varieties, fell from a month earlier, cutting prospects for crops that are in dormancy. The crop was rated 20 percent good or excellent as of Jan. 27, down from 24 percent on Dec. 30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Soybeans for March delivery dropped as much as 0.3 percent to $14.43 a bushel before trading at $14.44. Corn for March delivery fell as much as 0.2 percent to $7.275 a bushel before trading at $7.2775, after gaining 1.2 percent yesterday, the biggest advance at close in two weeks. To contact the reporter on this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Kuala Lumpur at rpakiam@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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