(Businessweek) – Wheat declined for the first time in five days after a survey showed reserves in the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter, will be larger than a government forecast. Soybeans gained.
The contract for May delivery lost as much as 0.5 percent to $7.17 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $7.185 by 11:31 a.m. in Singapore. Futures gained 2.2 percent in the past four sessions as spot prices increased their discount to corn and importers boosted purchases of U.S. supplies.
U.S. inventories before the 2013 harvest will probably be 702 million bushels, compared with 691 million forecast last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 30 analysts. Soy inventories in the U.S. may be smaller than the February outlook, the survey showed.
“Prices are driven by expectation that inventories in the U.S. will increase,” Joyce Liu, investment analyst at Phillip Futures Pte., said by phone from Singapore. “Improving prospects for the winter crop also eased concerns over supply.”
Futures dropped on Feb. 26 to their lowest level in eight months as a storm system eased drought conditions in the U.S. Wheat conditions in Kansas improved in February because of snow, the USDA said on Feb. 25.
Soybean futures for May delivery gained 0.5 percent to $14.51 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Corn futures for May delivery were little changed at $7.095 a bushel, after climbing 3.5 percent last week.
