Wheat Falls Most in Nine Weeks as Rain May Improve U.S. Crop

From Bloomberg:

Wheat prices fell the most in nine weeks on forecasts for rain in the northern Great Plains that may speed improvement of crops in the U.S., the world’s largest exporter of the grain.

About 71 percent of the spring crop was in good or excellent condition as of Aug. 2, compared with 56 percent a year earlier, the Department of Agriculture said on Aug. 3. Rain this week will further aid development of wheat fields set to be harvested starting next month, DTN Meteorlogix LLC said. Prices have dropped 7.3 percent in three days.

“Benign weather is leading to a tremendous crop,” said Bill Nelson, a senior economist at Doane Advisory Services Co. in St. Louis. “We’ll see a substantial increase in production, which means there’s upward potential” for inventories, he said.

Wheat futures for September delivery dropped 22.75 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $5.34 a bushel at 12:26 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. A close at that price would mark the steepest decline since June 3. Wheat has dropped this week on speculation that favorable weather will boost global production.

U.S. stockpiles probably will be 706 million bushels as of May 31, up from 667 million a year earlier, the USDA said on July 10. Futures have dropped 9.8 percent this year....MORE