(Nasdaq) – U.S. grain and soybean futures sank Monday, declining due to better world weather and rapid harvest progress in the Midwest.
Wheat prices dropped to the lowest level in more than a month, pressured by forecasts for rain in the southern U.S. Plains and former Soviet Union, where dry soil conditions have in recent weeks prompted concern over the health of winter crops. Analysts said forecasts for rainfall in major wheat-growing states like Texas and Kansas, as well as countries like Ukraine, improved the outlook for newly-seeded wheat crops after weeks of dryness threatened to curb crop yields come spring.
A strong U.S. dollar and slow export demand also weighed on prices for the grain, analysts said.
“It would be great to get the rain for the wheat,” said Sid Love, an agricultural economist at Joe Kropf & Sid Love Consulting Services in Overland Park, Kan., adding that parts of Kansas have not seen rain in roughly a month. Still, he said, “once you get into a dry pattern it’s hard to break out of it. I want to actually see the rain before I get too fired up.”
Wheat futures for December delivery fell 6 1/2 cents, or 1.3%, to $4.85 3/4 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade, the lowest intraday price since Sept. 17.
Corn prices declined to a more than five-week low, sliding as the autumn harvest gained speed in the U.S. Farm Belt, adding to domestic grain supplies during a period of sluggish foreign demand. Largely favorable weather is expected to aid farmers during a busy harvest week this week, after many growers in the western Midwest reported strong yields over the weekend.
“We’ve been running great guns” on harvest, said Mr. Love, adding that “I’m hearing [farmers] are piling corn on the ground” throughout the western Midwest.
CBOT December corn slid 3 3/4 cents, or 1%, to $3.73 a bushel, the lowest closing price since Sept. 10.
Soybean prices fell to a one-week low, buffeted in part by forecasts for rainfall later in the week in Brazil, a rival producer of the oilseeds, where a lack of precipitation recently has prompted worry over planting delays and the health of newly-seeded crops.
Improving foreign demand for oilseeds limited losses in the soybean market, however, with stronger-than-expected weekly inspection data buoying prices, analysts said.
CBOT November soybeans dipped 7 1/4 cents, or 0.8%, to $8.91 a bushel, the lowest settlement price since Oct. 12.
