July 21, 2014
Corn prices drop to four-year low
Corn prices dropped to its lowest record in four years as prospects for rising supplies overwhelmed concerns that the current Eastern Europe crisis may upset shipments from the Black Sea, Bloomberg reports.
Wheat traded near the lowest since 2010.
Corn for December delivery lost as much as 1.4% to US$3.7325 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the lowest for a most-active contract since July 14, 2010. Prices were at US$3.7375 by 1:59 p.m. in Singapore, set for a third monthly drop.
Futures tumbled 25% in the past year on expectations of a second straight bumper harvest in the US which will boost global supplies. The USDA predicts domestic output will reach 13.86 billion bushels, the second-highest on record. Cool weather through the weekend in the Midwest will favor pollination, MDA Weather Services said July 18.
"The weekend, weather outlook for the US in the Midwest looks almost picture perfect as corngoes through its yield determining period," said Paul Deane, an analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. "Below-average temperatures, good rains, the market is really looking at that now. The conditions are perfect for yields to be above trend."
World corn inventories will be 188.05 million tonnes before the start of the 2015 harvest, up from 173.42 million estimated for this year and the highest since 2000, the USDA said on July 11.
Wheat for September delivery fell as much as 0.7% to US$5.2875 a bushel and traded at US$5.30. Futures fell to US$5.2425 on July 14, the lowest since July 2010.
Prices jumped 2.4 % on July 17 after the downing of Malaysian Airlines jet, MH17, near the Ukraine''s border with Russia. Both nations account for about 17% of global wheat exports, with the Ukraine as the third-biggest corn shipper in 2013-2014, USDA data show.
Soy for delivery in November dropped as much as 1.2% to US$10.72 a bushel and were at US$10.7675.