Corn, Soybeans fall on favourable US crop development weather
Thursday, 20 August 2009
SINGAPORE Aug. 19 (Bloomberg): Corn and soybeans dropped, reversing earlier gains on speculation that favorable weather will lift U.S. crop yields and after the dollar stemmed declines.
Warm temperatures and mostly adequate soil moisture favors developing corn and pod setting soybeans in the Midwest, Minneapolis-based DTN Meteorlogix LLC said yesterday in a report. The Dollar Index rebounded after declining 0.5 per cent yesterday.
"The negative factors were good crop weather" and the dollar, Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at IDO Securities Co., said today by phone. Losses may be limited by gains in crude oil, which typically boosts demand for the crops as sources of biofuel, he said.
Corn for December delivery dropped 1 per cent to $3.1925 a bushel in after-hours trading on the Chicago Board of Trade at 2:18 p.m. in Singapore, after earlier rising 0.7 per cent to $3.2475. The price touched $3.115 on Aug. 17, the lowest intraday level for the most-active contract since Dec. 8.
Soybeans for November delivery fell as much as 1.6 per cent to $9.44 a bushel and last traded at $9.4475. The contract reached $9.42 yesterday, the lowest price since July 30.
The two commodities yesterday climbed for the first time in three days on concern that frost may damage U.S. crops, which are behind the normal development stage and more vulnerable to cold weather.
As of Aug. 16, about 40 per cent of the corn crop was in the dough stage, when kernels are formed but not yet filled, down from the previous five-year average of 64 per cent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Aug. 17 in a report. About 72 per cent of soybeans were setting pods, down from 85 per cent, the average for the past five years.
Crude oil for September delivery fell 0.1 per cent to $69.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after gaining as much as 1.9 per cent to $70.50 a barrel. The Dollar Index rose 0.3 per cent to 79.132 against a basket of six major currencies after closing at 78.937 yesterday.
Warm temperatures and mostly adequate soil moisture favors developing corn and pod setting soybeans in the Midwest, Minneapolis-based DTN Meteorlogix LLC said yesterday in a report. The Dollar Index rebounded after declining 0.5 per cent yesterday.
"The negative factors were good crop weather" and the dollar, Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at IDO Securities Co., said today by phone. Losses may be limited by gains in crude oil, which typically boosts demand for the crops as sources of biofuel, he said.
Corn for December delivery dropped 1 per cent to $3.1925 a bushel in after-hours trading on the Chicago Board of Trade at 2:18 p.m. in Singapore, after earlier rising 0.7 per cent to $3.2475. The price touched $3.115 on Aug. 17, the lowest intraday level for the most-active contract since Dec. 8.
Soybeans for November delivery fell as much as 1.6 per cent to $9.44 a bushel and last traded at $9.4475. The contract reached $9.42 yesterday, the lowest price since July 30.
The two commodities yesterday climbed for the first time in three days on concern that frost may damage U.S. crops, which are behind the normal development stage and more vulnerable to cold weather.
As of Aug. 16, about 40 per cent of the corn crop was in the dough stage, when kernels are formed but not yet filled, down from the previous five-year average of 64 per cent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Aug. 17 in a report. About 72 per cent of soybeans were setting pods, down from 85 per cent, the average for the past five years.
Crude oil for September delivery fell 0.1 per cent to $69.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after gaining as much as 1.9 per cent to $70.50 a barrel. The Dollar Index rose 0.3 per cent to 79.132 against a basket of six major currencies after closing at 78.937 yesterday.