Corn, wheat up as cold US weather may fuel feed demand

Corn and wheat rose on speculation that cold weather in the US Midwest will increase feed demand for livestock.

The northern Plains and upper Midwest will get four to eight inches of snow on Tuesday (Jan 5) and Wednesday (Jan 6), said Mike Tannura, president of T-Storm Weather. Livestock expend more energy in cold weather.

Low temperatures are putting a strong bid into feed grains, as the nation's cattle ranchers, hog and chicken farmers have no choice but to ramp up feed usage in order to have their animals generate enough internal warmth, said economist Dennis Gartman.

Corn for March delivery rose 0.4% to US$4.2025 a bushel on the CBOT. Futures climbed to US$4.2625 on January 4, the highest level since June.

Wheat for March delivery added 0.1% to US$5.5375 a bushel. The most-active contract dropped 14% last year. Milling wheat for March delivery traded on Liffe in Paris slipped 0.6% to EUR133.50 (US$$192.3) per tonne.

Tannura warned that temperatures went go as low as -34 degrees Celsius from January 8-9.

Snow news in areas including Indiana may give a short- term boost to corn, said Chris Yoo, team manager of global derivatives at Samsung Futures Inc. in Seoul. Gains for soy may be limited by a positive outlook for the South American crop, he said.

Soys for March delivery slipped 0.1% to US$10.6025 a bushel. The most-active contract for the oilseed gained 13% in the fourth quarter.

Brazil's soy harvest, the world's second-biggest after that of the US, may be about 5% larger than forecast as rain boosts yields, Nilva Claro, an Agriculture Ministry crop analyst, said January 4. Growing areas in South America will see ''a nearly ideal weather pattern'' for the next two weeks, according to a client note from World Weather Inc. in Overland Park, Kansas.