By Jae Hur and Luzi Ann Javier
July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Corn and soybeans gained as the dollar rally stalled, increasing demand prospects for U.S. crops. Wheat climbed from the lowest price since March.
The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, slipped for the first time in three days, making U.S. supplies more attractive to buyers holding other currencies. The index yesterday touched the highest level since July 17, prompting the biggest drop in commodity prices in eight weeks.
“The dollar’s retreat has helped corn and soybeans rebound moderately,” said Toshimitsu Kawanabe, an analyst at Tokyo- based commodity broker Central Shoji Co. Investors appeared to be reluctant to take significant positions before the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases its supply and demand outlook on Aug. 12, he said.
December-delivery corn advanced 0.5 percent to $3.2975 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade at 3:07 p.m. Singapore time, gaining for the first time in three days. The most-active contract has dropped 10 percent this month, extending June’s 16 percent loss.
Soybeans for November delivery climbed 1.2 percent to $9.2725 a bushel. The oilseed declined 5.5 percent this month, after plunging 17 percent in June.
Exporters in the U.S., the world’s biggest supplier of soybeans, sold 232,000 metric tons of the oilseed to China for delivery in the marketing year that begins Sept. 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday.
Crop Development
Cool temperatures will continue to slow development for soybean and corn crops in the Midwest in next five days “and possibly longer,” DTN Meteorlogix LLC said in a report dated yesterday. The Midwest is the largest growing region in the U.S.
“It’s not easy to sell aggressively because of unusually cool weather in the Midwest that may delay the crops’ growth, and speculation that the USDA may revise corn planting acres lower from its June 30 estimates, while the outlook for higher yields keeps investors from active buying,” Kawanabe said.
The USDA is scheduled to release Aug. 12 the result of a survey of farmers in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania, which will show the effect of cold weather on corn plantings.
The Dollar Index fell as much as 0.6 percent to 79.174 after gaining as much as 1 percent yesterday. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities dropped 2.7 percent yesterday, the steepest loss since June 22, led by declines in crude oil, heating oil, natural gas and silver.
Wheat for September delivery added 0.4 percent to $5.1375 a bushel. The grain fell 0.9 percent yesterday after touching $5.05, the lowest since March 4.
Japan, Asia’s biggest wheat importer, bought 144,000 tons of milling wheat for October shipment, including 102,000 tons from the U.S., in a tender today.
Argentina will get more dry weather in the coming week, affecting wheat crops, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said in its weekly weather report yesterday. The nation was the world’s sixth-largest wheat exporter in the 2008-2009 marketing year, according to the USDA.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net; Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment