March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Soybeans gained for a fourth session and corn rose on concern that unusually heavy rain will damage crops in Argentina as the global recovery improves demand for food, animal feed and biofuel.
Some fields in Argentina received more than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain in the past 24 hours, causing localized flooding and reducing yield prospects, T-Storm Weather said today in a note to clients. The dollar fell the most in two weeks and the MSCI World Index rose for a fourth session on speculation that measures in Greece to curb a budget deficit will bolster confidence in the global recovery.
“It’s a combination of unfavorable weather, a weaker dollar and improving world stock markets,” said Doug Bergman, a grain broker for Advantage Traders Group in Chicago. “There are a lot of end-users hoping to get corn and soybeans bought at lower prices and are now chasing the market.”
Soybean futures for May delivery rose 5.75 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $9.6925 a bushel at 10:40 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Before today, the most-active futures fell 8.1 percent this year on U.S. government forecasts for a 34 percent jump in combined output this year from Brazil and Argentina.
Corn futures for May delivery rose 5.75 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $3.8725 a bushel in Chicago, snapping a two-day slide. Before today, the most-active futures had dropped 8 percent this year on expectations for a jump in South American production.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $48.6 billion in 2009, followed by soybeans at a record $31.8 billion, government figures show.
--Editors: Steve Stroth, Daniel Enoch.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.
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