Soybeans Drop on Concern U.S. Farmers May Plant Most Acres Ever

(Bloomberg) – Soybeans declined on speculation that the U.S. government will forecast record planting this year, boosting the prospects for global oilseed supplies. Corn and wheat also fell.

The contract for delivery in May fell as much as 1 percent to $14.54 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, and was at $14.57 at 10:10 a.m. Singapore time. Trading volume was 82 percent more than the 100-day average at that time of day.

Farmers in the U.S. will probably plant a record 78.1 million acres of land with soybeans this year, almost doubling inventories before the 2014 harvest, according to the average estimate of  18 analysts surveyed  by Bloomberg News. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is set to update its estimates on plantings and supply at its annual outlook forum in Washington that begins today.

“The prices are very lucrative for farmers to expand planting,” Faiyaz Hudani, a Mumbai-based grains and oilseeds analyst at Kotak Commodity Services Ltd., said today. “That’s pressuring prices lower.”

Corn for May delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $6.95 a bushel in Chicago. That puts the price of soybeans at 2.1 times the cost of corn, compared with a 10-year average of 2.43 times.

Wheat for May delivery declined 0.4 percent to $7.42 a bushel on trading volume that was 15 percent below the 100-day average for that time of day.