(
Businessweek) – Soybeans and corn climbed for the third time in four days as hot, dry weather in the Midwest threatened to curb yields in the U.S., the biggest grower.
Parts of the Midwest including Iowa, the biggest corn and soybean growing state, South Dakota and Minnesota were under a hot weather advisory today, with heat indexes expected to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), National Weather Service data show. While some areas of Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana may see isolated storms during the weekend, the Midwest will have “no significant rain relief” before the end of next week, QT Weather said in a report.
“Some cooler temperatures and rain may occur next week, but it will likely result in little relief,” Dan Cekander, the director of grain market analysis at Newedge USA LLC, said in an e-mailed report. “About 45 percent of the soybean belt will be impacted by the continuing dry, hot weather. This will result in further yield loss.”
Soybeans futures for November delivery rose 0.8 percent to $13.82 a bushel at 4:25 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices climbed to $14.095 yesterday, the highest for a most-active contract since June 6, before closing lower. The oilseed has rallied 19 percent since reaching an 18-month low on Aug. 7.
Corn for December delivery increased 0.9 percent to $4.9075 a bushel. The price is heading for its first monthly gain since January. The grain is still down 30 percent this year as the U.S. government projects production in the country will reach a record 13.76 billion bushels.
Wheat for December delivery climbed 0.8 percent to $6.6925 a bushel in Chicago. In Paris, milling wheat for November delivery increased 0.4 percent to 192.50 euros ($257.41) a metric ton on NYSE Liffe.
Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, is seeking to purchase at least 60,000 tons of the grain in a tender today, according to the General Authority for Supply Commodities. The state-run buyer last had a tender on Aug. 6, in which it bought 120,000 tons of Romanian and Ukrainian wheat.
