BLBG:Wheat Trades Near Lowest in Seven Months as Rains Aid U.S. Crop
Wheat traded near the lowest level in more than seven months on speculation that rains in some growing areas in the U.S. may aid crop development as the largest shipper recovers from the worst drought since the 1930s.
Wheat for March delivery was little changed at $7.31 a bushel at 2:45 p.m. in Singapore. Yesterday, it dropped to $7.255, the lowest for the most-active contract since June 26.
Parts of the central and southern plains may have some precipitation next week, forecaster DTN said in a report yesterday. Rainfall is needed to prevent significant stress during spring, it said. The U.S. winter crop was in the worst shape since at least 1985, when it went dormant in November.
“Precipitation across the U.S. southern plains over the coming week is expected to provide a positive boost to yield prospects,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said in a report e-mailed today.
Corn for March delivery was little changed at $6.9575 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soybeans for May delivery slipped 0.3 percent to $14.0575 a bushel. That puts the price of soybeans at 2.0205 times the price of corn, compared with an average of 2.4 times in the past decade. Corn and soybeans compete in acreage.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture pared its estimate on the country’s corn exports this year to 22.86 million metric tons on Feb. 8, from 24.13 million tons a month earlier. Declining shipments will boost global inventories to 118.04 million tons, from 115.99 million tons forecast in January, the USDA said.
In Brazil, poised to become the world’s second-largest corn shipper, episodes of scattered showers and thunderstorms will favor reproductive to filling crops in the southern part of the country this week, DTN said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
