Soybeans Gain as Rain, Cold Weather May Delay U.S. Crop Harvest

By Jae Hur

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans climbed, extending the previous three weeks’ 15 percent advance, on speculation that rain, snow and cold weather may delay the U.S. harvest, threatening to damage crop yields. Corn and wheat also gained.

Futures rose on the possibility of a snowstorm extending from the central and southern Rockies into the Plains in the middle of this week, forecast by AccuWeather.com yesterday. The oilseed advanced 3.1 percent last week, capping the longest weekly rally since early June.

“Soybeans were underpinned by forecasts for rain and cold weather in the U.S. Midwest, prompting speculation the oilseed harvest may be delayed further,” Takaki Shigemoto, a commodity analyst at research and investment company JSC Corp. in Tokyo, said today by phone.

Soybeans for January delivery added as much as 1.2 percent to $10.1925 a bushel in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade and were at $10.18 as of 2:08 p.m. Tokyo time.

About 30 percent of U.S. soybean crops were harvested by Oct. 18, up from 23 percent a week earlier, and below the average of 72 percent over the previous five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week.

Corn for December delivery gained as much as 1.1 percent to $4.02 a bushel and last traded at $4.01. The grain touched $4.135 on Oct. 23, the highest for a most-active contract since June 22. The price climbed 6.9 percent last week, the third- straight weekly increase.

About 17 percent of the corn crop was collected as of Oct. 18, compared with 28 percent a year earlier and an average of 46 percent over the previous five years, according to the USDA.

China’s animal feed production in September gained 17.3 percent from the same month last year to 12.88 million metric tons, the China National Grain & Oils Information Center said in an e-mailed message, citing data from the Bureau of Statistics.

Wheat for December delivery added as much as 1.6 percent to $5.5625 a bushel in Chicago and last traded at $5.5525. The price reached $5.7475 on Oct. 23, the highest level since Aug. 4. The contract rose 9.8 percent last week, the biggest weekly advance since early April.

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