Corn slipped and soybeans touched the lowest since 2010 as rain forecast in the U.S. is expected to boost crops already seen at a record.
Rain forecast for the Midwest, particularly Iowa, will be beneficial for corn (CBOT:ZCU14) and soybeans (CBOT:ZSQ14)(CBOT:ZSQ14) next week, Allen Motew, meteorologist at QT Weather in Chicago, said in an interview yesterday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms in the Midwest during the next 7 to 10 days will favor filling corn and soybeans, DTN wrote in a report today.
“Corn futures weakened as continued favorable weather is set to boost yields above the USDA’s record estimation,” U.K. grain trader Gleadell Agriculture wrote in a market comment.
Corn for December delivery fell 0.1% to $3.665 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 7:38 a.m. Futures touched $3.58 on Aug. 12, the lowest since July 2010.
U.S. farmers will harvest a record 14.032 billion bushels of corn, the Department of Agriculture predicted Aug. 12.
“A little bit of rain adds to the bearishness,” said Avtar Sandu, senior commodities manager at Phillip Futures Pte in Singapore. “There’s going to be a huge corn supply. Unless there is a drastic change in weather, markets will not rally.”
Corn tumbled 19% in the past year on speculation a second bumper U.S. crop will boost global stockpiles. World reserves at the end of 2014-2015 may total 187.82 million metric tons, the highest since 2000, the USDA said. Global soybean inventories before the start of the 2015 Northern Hemisphere harvests will rise 28% to a record 85.62 million tons, according to the agency.
Soybeans for November delivery were little changed at $10.4725 a bushel after earlier dropping to $10.3875 a bushel, the lowest for a most-active contract since September 2010.
Wheat (CBOT:ZWU14) for delivery in December rose 0.2% to $5.465 a bushel, while milling wheat for November delivery traded on Euronext in Paris slipped 0.3% to 170.75 euros ($228.60) a ton.
“Uncertainty regarding the extent of damage to wheat quality persists in northern Europe as rainfall continues,” Gleadell wrote.