(Bloomberg) – Corn dropped for the second time in three days as field samples taken on farms in Illinois bolstered optimism the U.S. harvest will rebound from last year’s drought and reach a record. Soybeans dropped from a two-month high.
Corn for December delivery lost as much as 1 percent to $4.7825 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $4.80 by 10:26 a.m. in Singapore. Prices advanced 1.6 percent yesterday after a 2.1 percent drop on Aug. 20.
Yields in Illinois may climb 40 percent from last year to an average of 170.5 bushels an acre, according to participants in the annual Professional Farmers of America Midwest Crop Tour. Prices have slumped 31 percent this year as the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects a record 13.26 billion-bushel national harvest.
“The Pro Farmer crop tour through the U.S. Midwest is providing a focus for the market,” Profarmer Australia, a unit of NZX Ltd., said in a report dated yesterday. “The U.S. corn crop will bolster ending stocks considerably even if weather stays hot and dry into the harvest.”
Soybeans for November delivery dropped as much as 0.9 percent to $12.925 a bushel before trading at $12.96. Prices rose to $13.19 yesterday, matching the highest level on June 19. Wheat for delivery in December was unchanged at $6.4925 a bushel.
