Corn Falls as U.S. May Plant Most Since 1944; Wheat Declines

Corn Falls as U.S. May Plant Most Since 1944; Wheat Declines

Corn fell for a second day in Chicago
on prospects for farmers in the U.S., the world’s largest
grower, to plant the most acres since 1944. Wheat and soybeans
also slid as seeding may expand.
U.S. corn sowing will probably increase to 94.329 million
acres this year, up 2.6 percent from a year ago, according to a
Bg survey. Acreage may swell by 5.2 percent for wheat and
0.4 percent for soybeans, it showed.
“The market expects U.S. corn plantings to increase
substantially,” Michael Pitts, commodity sales director at
National Australia Bank Ltd., said in Sydney today. “We’ll see
a production increase in the new crop. That has a certain
offsetting benefit to losses” in South America, he said.
Corn for March delivery dropped 0.5 percent to $6.41 a
bushel by 12:51 p.m. Paris time on the Chicago Board of Trade.
The grain has declined 5 percent in the past year.
Corn output in Argentina may be 22.25 million metric tons,
smaller than the 26 million tons predicted by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture last month, after a drought parched
crops, a separate Bg survey showed. The South American
nation is the world’s second-largest exporter after the U.S.
In Brazil, production will probably be 59.61 million tons,
compared with a USDA forecast of 61 million tons, according to
the survey. The U.S. agency is set to release its latest global
supply outlook on Feb. 9 in Washington.

Wheat Drops

Wheat for March delivery declined 1 percent to $6.615 a
bushel. The grain pared yesterday’s 1.2 percent advance, which
stemmed from speculation that cold weather in France, Germany
and Ukraine will damage dormant crops.
Milling wheat for delivery in March traded on NYSE Liffe in
Paris slid 1.2 percent to 219.50 euros ($288.04) a ton. The
contract jumped 2.3 percent yesterday.
Soybeans for March delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $12.305
a bushel in Chicago. The oilseed climbed for five sessions
through yesterday, the longest winning streak since Dec. 27.
The USDA may lower its output forecast for Brazil, the
second-largest producer after the U.S., to 71.76 million tons
from a January estimate of 74 million tons, according to the
average estimate of 22 analysts surveyed by Bg News. The
Argentine harvest, the third-biggest, may be lowered to 48.58
million tons from 50.5 million tons, the survey showed.