(Bloomberg)– Corn fell on speculation farmers will be able to complete intended plantings even after cold and wet weather delayed field work in the U.S., the largest grower and exporter. Wheat and soybeans advanced.
Farmers had sown about 3 percent of the corn crop as of April 13, from 2 percent a year earlier and compared with a five-year average of 6 percent, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed. Planting may beat the USDA’s forecast for 91.69 million acres assuming normalized weather conditions by early May, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said April 13.
Corn for July delivery lost 0.6 percent to $5.06 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 5:39 a.m. local time. The contract slipped 0.6 percent last week, and has gained 16 percent this year as USDA data showed domestic corn inventories on March 1 were less than expected by analysts.
“Most participants are not too worried, given up to a third of the crop can be seeded in just one week if conditions are favorable,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, wrote in a note today.
Farmers had 2 percent in the ground by this time last year and still managed to produce a record harvest by October, as output rebounded from a drought in 2012. U.S. reserves on March 1 were 7.006 billion bushels, less than the 7.098 billion expected by analysts, according to the USDA.
“The low temperatures at the start of this week should slow down planting, which is however not likely to provide significant support to prices at this point in the year,” Paris-based farm adviser Agritel wrote in a market comment.
Wheat for July delivery rose 0.4 percent to $6.8925 a bushel after rising 2.8 percent yesterday, the most since March 24. Milling wheat for November traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris advanced 0.1 percent to 205 euros ($282.91) a ton.
Combined wheat production in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan is forecast to drop to 81.5 million tons this year from 89.8 million tons in 2013, Agritel wrote in a forecast yesterday, in part due to “worrisome” weather conditions and a lack of rain.
Soybeans for July delivery rose 0.4 percent to $14.69 a bushel in Chicago.
