January 2, 2009
Corn and soy rise on dry weather in South America
Corn and soy rose on speculation that dry weather in South America will damage crops and curb yields.
Dryness and lack of rainfall in the next week will stress plants and lower crop prospects in Brazil and Argentina, said Minneapolis-based DTN Meteorlogix LLC.
Corn and soy prices still fell 11 percent and 19 percent, respectively, in 2008, their first annual declines since 2004.
CBOT corn futures for March delivery rose 10.75 cents or 2.7 percent to US$4.07 per bushel. The most-active contract is down 49 percent from a record US$7.9 set on June 27.
CBOT soy futures for March delivery rose 27 cents or 2.8 percent to US$9.80 per bushel. The most-active contract has dropped 40 percent from a record US$16.3675 set on July 3.
Argentina's soy producers may harvest 50.5 million tonnes of the crop, up 9.3 percent from a year ago, while corn output will fall 14 percent to 18 million tonnes, according to the USDA on December 11.
Brazil's soy production is projected to fall 3.3 percent to 59 million tonnes in the current marketing year, while corn production is seen to decrease 8.7 percent to 53.5 million tonnes, the USDA said.