Corn and soybeans fell in Chicago as the dollar strengthened, reducing the appeal of U.S. crops to importers and investors. Corn for December delivery dropped 0.5 percent to $5.66 a bushel at 12:53 p.m. Paris time on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soybeans for January delivery fell 0.2 percent to $12.28 a bushel after yesterday touching $12.355, the highest price for a most-active contract since June 5, 2009. The U.S. will be the world’s largest exporter of corn ahead of Argentina in 2010-2011 and the biggest of soybeans ahead of Brazil, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts. The dollar climbed 0.1 percent against the euro after falling in the prior two days. A stronger dollar makes crops priced in the currency more expensive in terms of other monies. “Prices in Chicago are adjusting as a function of the euro-dollar rate,” Sebastien Poncelet, a consultant at Paris- based farm adviser Agritel, said via phone. “There are no other factors today.” Wheat for December delivery gained 0.1 percent to $6.745 a bushel. Milling wheat for January delivery traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris rose 0.4 percent to 209.25 euros ($292) a metric ton. Rough rice for January delivery slipped in Chicago, reversing a gain to the highest price since Jan. 11. The contract dropped 0.2 percent to $14.925 per 100 pounds after reaching $14.99. The most-active contract climbed for a 10th day yesterday. The staple food for half the world has jumped 56 percent from this year’s low on June 30 as global supplies were threatened by weather damage to crops in Pakistan and Thailand, which represent a combined 43 percent of global exports. Rice costs $80.55 a ton more than wheat, after slumping to a discount of about $53 in August. To contact the reporters on this story: Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net; Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net; Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net.

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