Grains, Soybeans Fall Again As Rains Drench the Midwest
March 29, 2011
CHICAGO -- Grain and soybean futures prices tumbled Wednesday for the third consecutive day on the Chicago Board of Trade amid expectations that crops will continue to improve as rain sweeps across parched Midwestern fields. Overnight rain that drenched more than 80% of Iowa's crop continues to chase drought-watchers out of the market. Investors believe the rain will help corn crops during the crucial pollination period. Most of the nation's corn and soybean crop is in good to excellent shape despite hot and dry weather. The USDA pegged 60% of the corn crop in at least good condition, with 55% of soybean crops in the same shape. Meanwhile, wheat futures fell on good growing weather for the spring wheat crop and the late-harvested winter wheat. Wheat for September delivery dropped 2.25 cents to $4.81 a bushel; September corn lost 18 cents to $3.865 a bushel; August soybeans dropped 16 cents to $8.025 a bushel. ENERGY: Crude oil and petroleum-product futures prices settled lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday amid continued profit taking in the wake of recent gains. August crude settled at $21.80 a barrel, down 58 cents, after falling to a session low at $21.30. The contract fell through support early in the day at $22.00 and again later at $21.80. The market also may have seen some pressure on news that the U.S. hinted that it had no objections to the new Iraqi aid distribution plan. The U.S. showed strong opposition to Baghdad's proposals in a plan submitted two weeks ago. August gasoline futures settled at 63.89 cents a gallon, down 1.16 cent, after rebounding from the session bottom at 63.20 cents a gallon. The contract came under pressure initially on the American Petroleum Institute report, which put gasoline stocks down 804,000 barrels for the latest reporting week, while the Energy Department put the figure down 1.3 million barrels. Traders had called for a draw of 2 million to 3 million barrels. August heating oil fell 0.86 cent to 56.32 cents a gallon, largely trailing the drop in the gasoline and crude, traders said. PRECIOUS METALS: Precious metals settled little changed Wednesday, as traders watched the U.S. stock market for signs of metals' next direction. ``The metals were put on the back burner,'' said Ricki Tony, a trader with Credit Suisse in New York, especially given the strong moves in Chicago grain futures, which made the slower-moving precious metals unappealing to many speculative traders. Gold for August delivery ended unchanged at $384.20 an ounce; September silver rose 1.7 cent to $4.960 an ounce on the Comex division of the Nymex.
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