BLBG:Corn Heads for Longest Losing Run Since 2010 as Output May Climb
Corn fell for an eighth session in Chicago, heading for the longest losing streak since March 2010, as prospects improved for crops in South America.
Rain in the past three days and more later this week will reduce crop stress to less than a third of Argentine fields from half last week, and precipitation will aid crops in Brazil, Commodity Weather Group LLC said yesterday. Argentina, the largest corn exporter after the U.S., may produce 27 million metric tons, more than expected by analysts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Feb. 8. Brazil’s harvest may be 72.5 million tons, also more than expected, the USDA said.
“The South American outlook is looking a bit brighter,” Kieran Walsh, a broker of agricultural derivatives at Aurel BGC, said today from Paris. “Yield potential in both Argentina and Brazil is looking healthier, reinforcing the USDA numbers.”
Corn for delivery in March dropped 0.7 percent to $6.975 a bushel at 5:22 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. The grain touched $6.9375, the lowest for a most-active contract since Jan. 11. Futures declined 5.2 percent in seven sessions by the close yesterday.
U.S. corn output is projected to increase 34 percent to 14.4 billion bushels in the 2013-14 season, the USDA said yesterday in a 10-year forecast. Soybean production may climb 11 percent to 3.34 billion bushels, it said. Both crops rallied to records last year in Chicago trading as drought in the U.S. followed dry weather in South America in the previous season.
Soybeans, Wheat
Soybeans for delivery in May rose 0.2 percent to $14.2075 a bushel. The contract rebounded from a 4.6 percent decline in the previous four sessions.
Wheat for delivery in March dropped 0.3 percent to $7.3925 a bushel. In Paris, milling wheat for delivery in May fell 0.7 percent to 238.75 euros ($321.21) a ton on NYSE Liffe.
Australia, the second-biggest wheat exporter last season, raised its production forecast after farmers ended harvesting. Output is set to reach 22.1 million tons from 22 million tons estimated in December, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences said today.
To contact the reporters on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net; Whitney McFerron in London at wmcferron1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net
