(Bloomberg) -- Corn dropped near the lowest since mid-April and soybeans slipped on prospects of beneficial U.S. rains after a hot, dry start to June.
Outlooks for better weather in a critical period for U.S. crops has corn skidding to its lowest price in more than a month and soybeans and wheat plunging as rains and cooler temperatures offer potential relief to parched fields. The declines come after agricultural futures hit multiyear highs this year, fueled by demand from China and fears that dry weather could bring supply shortfalls when global stocks are strained, exacerbating concerns of food inflation and global hunger.
The National Weather Service shows above-normal rains and average temperatures across the Midwest in the 8-14 day range. That would help ease dryness ahead of July, a key time for crop development. Rains have also eased dry conditions in the Canadian Prairies, helping canola and wheat. Ukraine is expected to have a bigger corn crop this year and Argentina raised its production forecast as the harvest progresses.
The weather forecast “seems a little bit less dramatic than before,” Michaela Helbing-Kuhl, an analyst at Commerzbank AG (OTC:CRZBY), said by phone. “We’re in the middle of a weather market,” and traders are awaiting updated U.S. plantings data due in late June, too.
Corn futures slid as much as 6.4% to $5.705 a bushel in Chicago, nearing the 40-cent exchange limit, before paring some of the loss. Soybeans traded as much as 4% lower while soybean oil dropped as much as 5.4%. Wheat declined as much as 3.5%.
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