News
28.12.2009
Corn Climbs to Four-Week High on Concern of U.S. Crop Damage
Corn climbed for a third day to a four-week high on speculation that snow and ice may damage late- harvested U.S. crops. Soybeans and wheat also gained.
About 5 percent of the corn crop in the U.S., the world’s largest producer, remained uncollected as of Dec. 20, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week. The harvest, which is usually completed by the end of November, has proceeded this year at the slowest pace since at least 1986, according to the department.
“This may lead to a reduction in U.S. corn production and year-end stockpiles,” said Toshimitsu Kawanabe, an analyst at Tokyo-based commodity broker Central Shoji Co. An increase in U.S. export sales also supported the market, he said.
Corn for March delivery added as much as 1.6 percent to $4.15 a bushel, the highest price since Dec. 1, on the Chicago Board of Trade and traded at $4.14 as of 1:54 p.m. in Tokyo.
The grain rose 0.9 percent on Dec. 24 after the USDA reported export sales jumped 30 percent from the previous week to 1.592 million metric tons in the week ended Dec. 17, the largest increase since January 2008. Sales have expanded 17 percent since the marketing year began on Sept. 1, compared with the same period last year.
Corn has jumped 26 percent this marketing year as heavy rain delayed the harvest. The USDA forecasts corn production at 12.921 billion bushels, second only to the record harvest of 2007. The agency will update its estimate on Jan. 12.
Twenty-one of 27 traders and analysts surveyed on Dec. 24 from Tokyo to Chicago said corn will rise this week, and 18 of 28 said soybeans will rebound. Last week, corn rose 2.7 percent to $4.085 a bushel and soybeans slipped 1.2 percent to $10.08 a bushel, touching a five-week low on Dec. 22.
March-delivery soybeans climbed 1.2 percent to $10.2025 a bushel. Wheat for March delivery was up 1 percent at $5.295 a bushel after declining for a fifth week
Bloomberg
