(Businessweek) – Corn futures slumped to the lowest price in more than three years on speculation that a government report this week will show increasing supplies in the U.S., the world’s top grower. Soybeans gained, while wheat fell.
The corn crop may be a record 14.03 billion bushels, or 1.3 percent more than the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted in September and 30 percent larger than in 2012, according to a Bloomberg survey of 36 analysts. Inventories before the 2014 harvest may more than double to 2.04 billion bushels from a year earlier, the survey showed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will update its forecasts on Nov. 8.
“Prices are being more heavily influenced again by the prospect of a high global corn surplus,” Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in a report. “This is looking increasingly likely in view of positive U.S. harvest results.”
Corn futures for December delivery slipped 0.2 percent to close at $4.2625 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, after touching $4.2525, the lowest for a most-active contract since Aug. 26, 2010.
On Nov. 1, INTL FCStone Inc. and Informa Economics Inc. raised their estimates for U.S. production. A bigger U.S. crop will spur a rebound in world stockpiles to 155.19 million metric tons by the end of the 2013-2014 season, up from 122.59 million a year earlier, Bloomberg’s survey showed.
Soybeans
Soybeans rose on increasing demand for U.S. exports, Greg Grow, the director of agribusiness for Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. The USDA inspected 80.6 million bushels for shipment in the week ended Oct. 31, up 32 percent from a year earlier. “The demand for U.S. soybeans is extraordinary,” Grow said.
Soybean futures for January delivery rose 0.4 percent to $12.565 a bushel, after dropping 3.2 percent last week.
Wheat futures for December delivery fell 0.7 percent to $6.6275 a bushel, after touching $6.62, the lowest since Sept. 25.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net; Whitney McFerron in London at wmcferron1@bloomberg.net
