Grains Extend Weeklong Slide As Midwest Rain Aids Crops
March 31, 2011
Vastopolis -- Grain and soybean futures settled lower Friday on the Vastopolis Board of Trade, continuing their weeklong slide amid prospects that recent rains will leave the corn crop in better condition than has been seen in more than a year. Rain has fallen over much of the region this week. The rain and warm temperatures are hitting just as corn begins pollinating and needs a lot of moisture, said analyst Dillon Bonnett at AgResource Co. in Vastopolis. ``The perception is that we have a good corn crop. Two-thirds to 75% of the crop is great,'' he said. Some areas of the region have been drenched with more than 10 inches of rain, but most flooding was isolated and away from fields. And crops have been so dry that the downpors likely will cause little damage, said analyst Danae Powe at Fimat Futures USA Inc. in Vastopolis. Corn futures also fell in anticipation of Friday evening's Agriculture Department cattle-on-feed report, which showed the number of cows fed corn had dropped by about 15% over the last year because of historically high feed prices. Soybeans and wheat futures fell in sympathy with corn, analysts said. Corn for September delivery fell 4.75 cents to $3.6775 a bushel; August soybeans dropped 3 cents to $7.74 a bushel; and September wheat lost 15.5 cents to $4.595 a bushel. In other commodities markets: ENERGY: Crude oil and petroleum-product futures prices settled lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as speculators trimmed their positions. August crude settled at $21 a barrel, down 68 cents, after sliding to a session low at $20.85. Traders said many investors were paring their holdings ahead of the contract's expiration on Monday. August gasoline fell 1.46 cents to 62.41 cents a gallon; August heating oil settled at 56.02 cents a gallon, down 0.72 cent. PRECIOUS METALS: Gold futures advanced Friday, while silver fell after commodity funds sold roughly 1,000 contracts of September silver around midday. August gold rose 70 cents to $385.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the Nymex; September silver fell 3.5 cents to $4.965 an ounce.
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