Corn, soybeans plunge on warm Midwest weather
AP , New York: Jul 7 2008
Made Popular Jul 7 2008

Corn and soybean prices tumbled Monday, falling the maximum allowed limit on expectations that warm, dry weather in the Midwest will help crops recover from last month’s floods and ease supply concerns.

Other commodities traded sharply lower in a sell-off led by crude oil, which lost more than $5 a barrel. Gold, silver, copper and other energy futures all fell.

Corn last week surged close to an all-time high near $8 a bushel, driven up on concerns that more rain would slow crop development in the flood-hit Midwest. But warm conditions have returned in recent days and over the weekend, helping dry out crops just in time for the critical July corn growing period. More warm weather with only scattered rain is expected this week.

“The market is hypersensitive to weather right now and you can’t have extreme prices if you have normal weather,” said Vic Lespinasse of Grainanalyst.com. “If the weather stays favorable, prices will keep going south. If the weather becomes a threat, they will take off like a rocket.”

Corn for December delivery fell the 30-cent daily limit to trade at $7.46 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The contract is more than 50 cents off its all-time trading high of $7.9925, reached June 26.

Soybeans for November delivery fell the 70-cent limit to $15.61 a bushel on the CBOT. On Thursday, the last trading day before the July 4 holiday, soybeans surged to an all-time high of $16.3675 a bushel.

Wheat futures dropped nearly the daily limit Monday, with the September contract falling 50.5 cents to $8.37 a bushel.

Corn and soybean prices have shot up in the past year amid a global push to lock up grain supplies to feed people and livestock. A U.S. initiative to produce fuel ethanol from corn has also pushed up prices, drawing criticism that the United States is inflating world food prices through fuel subsidies.

In energy markets, oil prices fell sharply Monday after the dollar rallied and Middle East tensions appeared to subside at least temporarily.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell $3.68 to $141.61 in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, the contract sank as low as $140.12, or $5.17 below Thursday’s settlement price.

Other energy futures also traded lower. August gasoline futures fell 9.4 cents to $3.477 a gallon on the Nymex, while August heating oil futures declined 12.09 cents to $3.9851 a gallon.

In precious metals, gold futures pulled back after the dollar gained against the euro earlier in the day, giving investors reasons to sell the metal traditionally viewed as an inflation hedged. The euro edge slightly higher against the dollar later Monday.

Gold for August delivery fell $7.90 to $925.70 an ounce on the Nymex, after earlier falling as low as $916.30.

Other precious metals also fell. Silver for September delivery lost 51 cents to $17.86 an ounce on the Nymex, while September copper dropped 10 cents to $3.849 an ounce.

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