Corn, Soybeans May Fall as Dollar Rally Cuts Commodity Assets

By Jeff Wilson

Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Corn and soybeans may fall, resuming declines from record highs, as a strengthening dollar slashes the investment allure of commodities.

Seventeen of 32 traders, advisers and grain merchants surveyed Aug. 15 from Chicago to Beijing said corn will fall, and 17 of 33 respondents said to sell soybeans. Corn rose 6 percent to $5.495 a bushel last week in Chicago, snapping a six-week decline from a record $7.9925 on June 27. Soybeans rose 3.3 percent to $12.19 a bushel, after falling for five straight weeks from an all-time high of $16.3675 on July 3.

Last week's gains were a surprise to the majority of respondents surveyed Aug. 8. Since 2004, 59 percent of the surveys were correct for corn and 62 percent for soybeans.

Weekly results: Bullish on corn: 15 Bullish on soybeans: 16 Bearish on corn: 17 Bearish on soybeans: 17

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net.