BLBG:Corn Drops a Second Time This Week as Snow Boosts U.S. Crop View
Corn declined for the second time this week as snowfall in the U.S., the biggest producer, improved prospects for the crop before the planting season starts in April.
The contract for May delivery lost as much as 0.4 percent to $7.0625 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, and was at $7.0825 by 11:52 a.m. Singapore time. Futures gained 0.8 percent yesterday after falling 0.7 percent on March 4, when a Bloomberg survey showed U.S. inventories may be larger than a government estimate last month.
The storm system impacting the U.S. Midwest will shift into the northeast on Wednesday, bringing heavy snow, the National Weather Service said on its website. Snow in the U.S. has been encouraging for crops and helping ease drought conditions, Joe Glauber, Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in Canberra, Australia today.
“We see some bearishness on grain markets today because of improving crop weather prospects,” Joyce Liu, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures Pte., said by phone from Singapore. “Snow in the U.S. will be helpful to ensure there is sufficient moisture in the soil for new plantings of corn and soybeans.”
U.S. corn stockpiles before the 2013 harvest probably will be larger than the government forecast last month, according to the survey of 30 analysts by Bloomberg. Reserves will be 646 million bushels, up from 632 million estimated by the USDA in February, the survey showed. The agency is scheduled to update its reserve estimates on March 8.
“The warmer weather in the wheat-growing U.S. Plains has improved soil moisture. That bodes very well for the crop,” Liu said. U.S. wheat inventories before the 2013 harvest will be 702 million bushels, up from 691 million forecast last month by the USDA, according to the survey.
Wheat for May delivery was little changed at $7.0625 a bushel, after touching an eight-month low of $6.975 on March 4. Soybeans for May delivery fell 0.2 percent to $14.64 a bushel.
To contact the reporter on this story: Supunnabul Suwannakij in Bangkok at ssuwannakij@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
