from Bloomberg:
Corn rose for a fifth day to a 30- month high in Chicago and wheat climbed amid shrinking global stockpiles. Soybeans advanced on speculation that a strengthening yuan may spur imports into China.
World corn supplies will fall 14 percent this year and wheat inventories will drop 9.8 percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week. Prices also gained as the dollar weakened, making U.S. crops cheaper in terms of other monies. The yuan advanced to a 17-year high against the U.S. currency yesterday.
“The fundamentals are all in place for a very strong rally all of this year,” said Gary Mead, an analyst with VM Group in London. “The USDA figures sent a bolt of lightning through the market because the stocks-to-use ratio is going to be tight indeed through the end of August. And we have a lot of weather uncertainties to get through.”
Corn for March delivery gained 0.9 percent to $6.655 a bushel at 11:27 a.m. London time on the Chicago Board of Trade. The grain touched $6.6625, the highest price since July 17, 2008. March-delivery soybeans added 1.2 percent to $14.3025 a bushel.
Chinese President Hu Jintao met yesterday with U.S. President Barack Obama, boosting hopes that trade relations recently under strain will improve, Chung Yang Ker, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte, said by phone from Singapore.
