Corn Climbs to Three-Month High as Rain Delays Harvest in U.S.

By Jae Hur

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Corn advanced to a three-month high as rains delayed the U.S. harvests and cold weather slowed crop growth. Wheat also climbed for a second day, while soybeans pared yesterday’s gain.

About 17 percent of the corn crop was collected by Oct. 18, compared with 28 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. The average harvest for this time in the season was about 46 percent the past five years, USDA data indicates. Grains also gained as a weaker dollar increased the investment appeal of commodities priced in the currency.

“You’ve got the delay in the U.S. harvests and you’ve got on the other side, of course, the weaker U.S. dollar,” Peter McGuire, managing director of CWA Global Markets Pty in Sydney, said by phone today. “Everything is on fire because of the sliding U.S. dollar.”

Corn for December delivery gained as much as 0.8 percent to $3.895 a bushel, the highest level since June 30, in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. The grain was at $3.865 as of 2:07 p.m. Tokyo time. The contract gained 3.8 percent yesterday, the biggest advance since Oct. 12.

November-delivery soybeans fell to 0.3 percent at $9.93 a bushel after trading as high as $10.0474. The oilseed, which gained 1.9 percent yesterday, reached a six-week high of $10.1225 on Oct. 13.

The soybean harvest was 30 percent complete as of Oct. 18, compared with 23 percent a week earlier and 64 percent a year earlier, the USDA said. The department released its report yesterday after futures had settled.

Dollar Slides

The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the currency against those of six major U.S. trading partners, fell 0.4 percent to 75.187 after touching 75.117, the lowest intraday level since Aug. 8 last year.

“For corn and soybeans, the market appeared to be slightly overbought in this harvest period,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at IDO Securities Co. “Even the harvests have been delayed, no one doubts bumper crops in the U.S.,” he said.

Wheat for December delivery added as much as 1.4 percent to $5.25 a bushel and last traded at $5.20. The contract rose 3.8 percent yesterday on speculation that frost and drought will reduce crops in Australia, the world’s fourth-biggest exporter.

About 69 percent of the U.S. winter wheat crop was planted as of Oct. 18, compared with 64 percent a week earlier and 78 percent, on average, in the previous five years, the USDA said. About 48 percent of the crop had emerged from the ground, up from 39 percent a week earlier and trailing the 54 percent five- year average, the department said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net