(Businessweek) – Wheat fell for the second time in three days on speculation that crop damage was less than expected after freezing, dry weather in the U.S. Great Plains. Corn also declined, while soybeans advanced.
Yields in Kansas, the largest producer of winter wheat, and in northern Oklahoma were forecast at 41.1 bushels an acre, according to participants in an annual three-day crop tour that surveyed 570 fields through yesterday. Last year, Kansas farmers harvested 42 bushels an acre. Some analysts had expected a bigger drop in yields, after the worst drought since the 1930s and freezing weather during the past month.
“The wheat tour numbers weren’t as bullish as expected,”Jamey Kohake, a broker and branch manager at Paragon Investments in Silver Lake, Kansas, said by telephone. “It looks like the crop is OK. There are pockets that are horrendous, but as a whole, it should be OK.”
Wheat futures for July delivery fell 1 percent to $7.215 a bushel at 10:02 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price last month gained 6.3 percent on expectations that the drought and freeze had done more damage to crops.
On the Kansas City Board of Trade, wheat futures fell 1.4 percent to $7.795 a bushel, heading for the biggest drop since April 26. Rainfall and warmer weather this month may boost crops in Kansas and Oklahoma, INTL FCStone said in a report today.
Corn futures for July delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $6.6025 a bushel in Chicago. The price through yesterday had gained 6.8 percent this week.
Soybean futures for July delivery gained 1.5 percent to $13.9225 a bushel in Chicago, the first advance since April 29. The price last month dropped 0.4 percent, the third straight decline.
