Bloomberg
By Rudy Ruitenberg and Phoebe Sedgman
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — Corn rose for a sixth day in Chicago, the longest rally this year and reversing an earlier decline, on expectations that rain in Argentina will be followed by hot and dry weather that may affect the crop.
Argentina may be drier than normal in the next 10 days and hot temperatures may return next week, after thunderstorms yesterday and overnight that brought rain to some of the driest growing areas, DTN Telvent Inc. wrote in a report today.
“The weather conditions in Argentina remain fragile, with certainly some rains for the end of this week, but forecasts for a return to warm and dry weather next week,” Paris-based farm adviser Agritel wrote in a comment. “It’s for corn that the situation is the most worrisome.”
Corn for March delivery rose 0.2 percent to $6.185 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade by 2:52 p.m. Paris time, reversing an earlier 0.4 percent drop. The most-active contract has slipped 1.7 percent this year.
The six-day rally for corn is the longest since the grain advanced nine consecutive sessions through Dec. 29 last year.
“At this stage there are no significant damages yet, but the situation could tighten if the dry conditions last into January,” Agritel wrote.
Soybeans for March delivery gained 0.3 percent to $11.75 a bushel in Chicago, reversing a 0.5 percent drop and limiting the decline this year for the most-active contract to 16 percent. The oilseed rose for a seventh session, the longest series of gains since July 15.
Argentina Downpours
Argentina’s corn and soybean crops will receive downpours through Dec. 29, improving soil humidity in the Pampas agricultural zone after the dryness in past weeks, the Buenos Aires Cereals Exchange said yesterday. North and central areas of the Pampas will receive up to 75 millimeters (2.95 inches) of rainfall, while southern areas won’t get rains, it said.
“There was overnight rain in Argentina with some handy falls in patches and where that rain was experienced they’re certainly going to see an improvement in crop conditions,” Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said by phone from Sydney today. Crop stress may continue next week even after the rainfall forecast, he said.
The U.S. was the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn and soybeans in the season that ended Sept. 30. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says Brazil will top the U.S. this year as the largest shipper of soybeans. Argentina is the second-biggest corn exporter after the U.S.
Wheat for March delivery rose 0.4 percent to $6.24 a bushel in Chicago. Prices have slumped 21 percent this year as global production expanded.
Milling wheat for March delivery traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris advanced 0.1 percent to 186.25 euros (243.26) a metric ton, falling 26 percent this year. Commodity-futures trading was halted early in Paris today before the Christmas holidays, and will resume on Dec. 27.
Morocco is expected to have record stocks of more than 1.6 million tons of soft wheat at the end of the year, enough to cover more than four months of milling demand, state grain buyer ONICL reported.
–With assistance from Swansy Afonso in Mumbai. Editors: Thomas Kutty Abraham, Ovais Subhani
To contact the reporter on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris atrruitenberg@bloomberg.net. Phoebe Sedgman in Melbourne atpsedgman2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter atccarpenter2@bloomberg.net. Richard Dobson atrdobson4@bloomberg.net
