(BusinessWeek) – Corn rose for a third straight day after the U.S. government reported sales to China, the world’s biggest hog producer, signaling increased demand for the grain in livestock feed. Soybeans declined
U.S. exporters sold 900,000 metric tons of corn to China, including 660,000 tons previously reported as sold to unknown destinations, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. Before today, the grain fell 7.6 percent this year after the USDA said farmers would harvest a record crop this year.
“The China corn-sale announcement is positive because it shows they are willing to buy on weakness,” Jim Riley, a grain broker for the Linn Group in Chicago, said today in a telephone interview. “With a big crop on the horizon, we will need to see more buying from China.”
Corn futures for July delivery climbed 0.3 percent to $5.99 a bushel at 10:05 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, after rising 2.8 percent the past two sessions. Futures for December delivery after the harvest slid 0.4 percent to $5.125.
Soybean futures for July delivery fell 0.5 percent to $14.0625 a bushel on the CBOT. On May 14, the most-active contract touched $13.76, the lowest since March 30. Futures for delivery in November dropped 1 percent to $12.92.
The U.S. was the largest producer and exporter of both commodities last year. Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $76.5 billion in 2011, followed by soybeans at $35.8 billion, government figures show.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
