July 15, 2010

US corn and soy futures rise as hot weather may hurt crops
 

Corn prices rose the most in a week and soy futures climbed to a two-month high on speculation that a heat wave may damage crops in the US, the biggest producer and exporter.

As much as 20% of Midwest crops may be harmed over the next six weeks, said Joel Widenor, the director of agriculture services at the Commodity Weather Group LLC in Bethesda, Maryland. Temperatures may approach 38 degrees Celsius next week from Omaha, Nebraska, to Springfield, Illinois.

Corn futures for December delivery rose 9.25 cents, or 2.4%, to US$3.9625 a bushel on the CBOT, the biggest gain since July 7. In the two weeks ended July 9, the price jumped 9.6% after the government said that farmers planted less than they had intended this year.

Soy futures for November delivery climbed 7.5 cents, or 0.8%, to US$9.62 a bushel. Earlier, the price reached US$9.67, the highest level since May 13. The oilseed has gained 6.6% this month.

Last week, soy conditions deteriorated amid rain in parts of the western Midwest and dry weather across southern and eastern growing regions.

Corn is the biggest US crop, valued at US$48.6 billion in 2009, followed by soy at US$31.8 billion, government figures show.