Soybeans, Corn Advance as Weakness in Dollar Lures Importers

By Luzi Ann Javier

Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans and corn rallied as a decline in the dollar made supplies from the U.S., the world’s biggest grower and exporter of both crops, more attractive to investors and importers.

The Dollar Index, which the ICE uses to track the value of the greenback against currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, fell for the first time in three days, shedding as much as 0.4 percent.

Weakness in the dollar “could be providing some strength” to grains and oilseeds today, Toby Hassall, a research analyst at CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney, said today.

Soybeans for November delivery added as much as 1 percent to $9.23 a bushel, ending two days of losses. The most-active contract traded at $9.185 in after-hours electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade at 1:09 p.m. Singapore time.

Corn for December delivery advanced for the first time in five days, gaining as much as 1 percent to $3.29 a bushel, before trading at $3.18 at 1:02 p.m. Singapore time. Wheat for December delivery added 0.4 percent to $4.58 a bushel, ending four days of losses.

Australia, the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter, got rain in some grain states, helping boost output prospects ahead of harvests.

Storms dumped 10 millimeters (0.4 inch) to 30 millimeters of rain in South Australia state yesterday, Commonwealth Bank of Australia said today in a note to clients. Victoria state got as much as 40 millimeters in some parts, the bank said.

North Korea’s corn output may be 1.5 million tons this year, 40 percent less than its annual average, because of drought and fertilizer shortages, Yonhap News reported, citing Kim Soon Kwon, head of the Seoul-based International Corn Foundation.

Still, soybeans and corn futures may drop as warm weather in the Midwest, the largest U.S. growing region, helps advance crop development, increasing global supplies, Hassall said.

About 21 percent of the corn crop in the top 18 producing states in the U.S. was mature as of Sept. 20, up from 12 percent a week ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The 18 states accounted for 92 percent of last year’s corn acreage, it said.

Prices Damped

About 40 percent of the soybean crop in the 18 states was dropping leaves ahead of the harvest, up from 17 percent a week earlier, the USDA said. The 18 states accounted for 95 percent of last year’s soybean acreage, it said.

“If we don’t see any threats of freeze or frost, then I think you could see corn and soy prices remain damped leading up to the harvest,” Hassall said. “The weakness is flowing on to the wheat market as well.”

Soybean and corn crops in the Midwest “will continue to benefit from near- to above-normal temperatures for at least the next five to seven days, probably longer,” DTN Meteorlogix LLC said in a forecast yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net