US corn climbs to four-week high on weather-damaged crop

 

 

Corn climbed to a four-week high in Chicago on reports that snow and ice damaged US crops still in the fields following a late harvest, while soy and wheat also advanced.

 

Windy and cold weather with sleet and snow reached the US Great Plains and the Midwest over Christmas week, said agricultural meteorologist Gail Martell.

 

About 5% of the US corn crop remained uncollected as of December 20, the USDA said last week.

 

The strong winds, ice and snow damaged remaining corn in the field that are estimated to be 600-800 million bushels, said Martell.

 

Corn for March delivery gained 2% to US$4.1675 a bushel in electronic trading on the CBOT at 2:14 pm. Paris time, the highest intraday price since December 1.

 

The current US corn harvest was the slowest since 1986, and this may lead to a reduction in US corn production and year-end stockpiles, according to Toshimitsu Kawanabe, analyst at Tokyo-based Central Shoji Co. An increase in US export sales also supported the market, he said. 

 

Corn increased 0.9% on Decemver 24 after the USDA reported export sales in the week ended December 17 rose 30% from the previous week to 1.592 million tonnes, the largest rise since January 2008. Sales in the marketing year that started September 1 have risen 17% from the year-earlier period.

 

Corn has jumped 26% this marketing year as rain delayed the harvest. The USDA forecasts corn production at 12.921 billion bushels, second only to the record harvest of 2007.

 

Last week, corn rose 2.7% to US$4.085 a bushel and soy slipped 1.2% to US$10.08 a bushel, touching a five-week low on December 22.

 

The very cold temperatures are raising the demand for livestock feed, as low temperatures demand more feed for the animals, said economist Dennis Gartman.

 

March-delivery soy climbed 1.2% to US$10.20 a bushel. Wheat for March delivery added 1.9% to US$5.3425 a bushel after declining for a fifth week.

 

Milling wheat for January delivery traded on Liffe in Paris added 0.8% to EUR129.75 (US$186.26) a tonne at 2:16 pm local time.