(Businessweek) – Corn and soybean futures fell on speculation that warmer, drier weather over the next week will aid planting in the U.S., the world’s biggest producer. Wheat rose to a 14-month high as yield prospects dimmed.
Muddy soils will dry out enough for heavy farm equipment, allowing corn and soybean planting to resume through May 7, T-Storm Weather LLC in Chicago said in a report. Sowing was delayed in the past week as more than 2 inches (5.1 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of the Midwest. Showers were expected to ease drought conditions in western areas of the region.
“Improving forecasts mean farmers will be back in their fields by the weekend,” Greg Grow, the director of agribusiness at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “Crops will be planted, and that improves the outlook” for big harvests, he said.
Corn futures for July delivery fell 0.5 percent to close at $5.19 a bushel at 1:15 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. In April, the price gained 3.4 percent, the fourth straight gain and the longest rally since October 2010.
Soybean futures for July delivery fell 0.3 percent to $15.1275 a bushel. In April, the oilseed climbed 3.3 percent, the third consecutive increase and the longest rally since August 2012.
Wheat rose after an industry crop tour measured yields at the lowest since 2001 in parts of Kansas, the biggest state producer of the hard red-winter variety.
Crop ‘Worse’
“The crop is worse than people were expecting, and there is little rain in the forecast,” Grow said.
Hard red-winter wheat futures for July delivery rose 1.2 percent to $8.125 a bushel. Earlier, the price reached $8.1525, the highest for a most-active contract since Feb. 8, 2013. In April, the grain jumped 6.3 percent, the third straight gain and the longest rally since September 2012.
This year, futures have surged 27%, the fourth-biggest gain among the 24 raw materials in the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Spot Index.
Soft red-wheat futures for July delivery rose 0.7 percent to $7.215 a bushel. The price climbed for the seventh straight session, the longest rally since July 2012.
Coffee leads advances this year in the GSCI index, followed by hogs and nickel.
