Soybeans Drop as Improving Brazilian Outlook Eases Supply Woes

(Bloomberg) – Soybeans declined for a second day as rains improved the production outlook for Brazil, poised to be the largest shipper this year. Corn and wheat also fell.

Rains this week in central western, southeastern and southern regions in Brazil will maintain good soil moisture levels, boosting crop development, Somar Meteorologia said in a report yesterday. Some growing areas have been affected by dry weather this season, the forecaster said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects Brazil to produce 81 million metric tons of soybeans in the 2012-2013 season, surpassing the U.S. as the world’s largest grower and exporter.

“The weather conditions in Brazil have been improving, and that’s helping ease supply concerns,” Tetsu Emori, a commodity fund manager at Astmax Co., said by phone from Tokyo today. Traders also may have sold contracts after futures climbed above $15 a bushel yesterday, a five-week high, Emori said.

Soybeans for March delivery fell 1.2 percent to $14.7075 a bushel by 7:11 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, paring the annual advance to 22 percent. The oilseed reached a record $17.89 a bushel in September as U.S. drought crimped yields.

Growing areas in Brazil may have 0.5 to 1.5 inches (1.3 to 3.8 centimeters) of rain in the next 5 days, with totals in some locations reaching 5 inches, Commodity Weather Group said today in an e-mailed report. Rain in the next two weeks may trend toward southern areas, the forecaster said.

Soybean planting in Brazil is 97 percent complete, compared with 98 percent a year earlier, researcher Celeres said in a statement yesterday, maintaining its production forecast for the country at 79 million tons. Bumper crops in Brazil and Argentinamay send soybean prices in Chicago to $13.50 a bushel next year, Fernando Lobo Pimentel, the head of Brazil’s National Agriculture Society, said yesterday.

Wheat for delivery in March fell 0.4 percent to $8.05 a bushel in Chicago, after climbing as much as 0.7 percent. The grain has advanced 23 percent this year. In Paris, milling wheat for March delivery dropped 0.7 percent to 255 euros ($336) a ton, paring this year’s gain to 31 percent.

Corn for March delivery dropped 0.7 percent to $7.1925 a bushel in Chicago, trimming this year’s advance to 11 percent.

To contact the reporters on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net; Whitney McFerron in Chicago at wmcferron1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net