Soybeans Gain on Speculation Lower U.S. Sowing, Brazil Rain May Cut Supply

Soybeans gained on speculation that reduced planting in the U.S., the world’s largest exporter, and rain in Brazil that is slowing collection of the oilseeds will curb production.

The area planted with soybeans in the U.S. may total 76.79 million acres this year, compared with the Department of Agriculture’s February estimate of 78 million acres, according to the average forecast of 32 analysts surveyed last week by Bloomberg News. Rain in Brazil, the third-biggest shipper of the oilseeds, has delayed the harvest and may curb yields.

“The Brazilian situation is still a major issue, and the continuing rain is still holding exports down,” said Jonathan Bouchet, an analyst at broker OTCex Group in Geneva. Investors may be buying contracts ahead of the USDA report, set to be released at 8:30 a.m. in Washington, expecting planting estimates to be lower than previously forecast, Bouchet said.

Soybeans for May delivery gained 6 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $13.78 a bushel by 10:07 a.m. London time on the Chicago Board of Trade. The most-active contract is set for a 1.8 percent loss this quarter, the first in three.

“Soybean values are sitting just under resistance levels,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), said today in a report. “A low-acreage estimate should be enough to push the market through these,” he wrote, referring to points where investors may sell contracts.

The U.S. is estimated to account for 39 percent of global corn harvests in the 2010-2011 season, 35 percent of soybean output, and 28 percent of world wheat exports, according to USDA estimates on March 10.

Expand Plantings

Wheat futures were little changed on speculation that farmers in the U.S., the world’s largest shipper, may expand plantings, easing supply concerns.

Sowing of the grain may reach 57.2 million acres, up from the USDA’s estimate last month of 57 million acres, and 53.6 million acres a year ago, according to a Bloomberg News survey last week.

Wheat for May delivery dropped 1 cent, or 0.1 percent, to $7.2625 a bushel in Chicago. Futures have dropped 8.6 percent this quarter, the first such loss in four.

Corn for May delivery gained 0.2 percent to $6.6475 a bushel in Chicago, taking the quarterly gain for the most-active contract to 5.7 percent. Futures jumped 93 percent in the past year as production lagged behind demand, draining global stockpiles.

Areas seeded with the grain in the U.S., the largest grower and exporter, may climb to 91.751 million acres from 88.192 million last year, according to the Bloomberg survey. That would be the biggest since 2007 and the second-largest since 1944.

“The grains are holding pretty well following that Japanese quake, as they are expected to boost imports very soon,” Bouchet said. “But for today, most traders are waiting for the USDA report to come out.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony C. Dreibus in London at tdreibus@bloomberg.net; Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net