August 30, 2010

US corn and soy futures seen to rise on lower crop yield

Corn and soy futures may rise on speculation that adverse weather will reduce yields of US crops that the government says will be the biggest ever.

Traders and analysts surveyed from Chicago to Tokyo on August 27 said corn will climb, and some predicted a soy rally.

Last week, corn futures for December delivery fell 0.25 cent to US$4.36 a bushel on the CBOT. Soy for November delivery gained 22 cents, or 2.2%, to US$10.26 a bushel.

Last week's gain in soy was expected by the majority of respondents surveyed on Aug. 20, while the corn rally was a surprise. Since 2004, the surveys have been right about corn's weekly moves 49% of the time and 53% for soy. The US is the biggest grower and exporter of the crops.