Corn extends losses for a second day

Corn dropped for a second day in a row as planting in the U.S. advanced last week and is near completion. According to the U.S. Department of Agricultures report yesterday, around 91% of the corn crop in the worlds largest grower has been planted, up from 86% last week. The USDA said on May 10 that the U.S. will harvest a record 359.2 million tons this year.

News about assured ample supply is driving prices down. On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, corn futures for July delivery traded at $6,4875 a bushel at 7:48 GMT, down 0.98% on the day. Joyce Liu, an analyst at Phillip Futures Pte., said for Bloomberg: “When we see an improvement in the planting progress, prices do come down. If the crop didn’t get planted soon enough, we would have expected a reduction in acreage.”

Elsewhere on the market, wheat for July delivery traded at $7.0050 a bushel at 8:04 GMT, down 1,14% on the day. According to USDAs report, 73% of the winter wheat crop was planted as of the week ending June 2, compared to 60% in the preceding week, which shows a stable advance. However, this is still lower than the 80% five-year average and the 88% planted during the same week last year. Winter wheat condition is also worse than last year. The USDA reported 42% of the crop falls in the “very poor” and “poor” categories, 31% is “good” and “excellent” and 25 has a “fair” quality. Last year 18% was categorized as “very poor” and “poor”, 30% as “fair” and 52% was “good” and “excellent”.

Soybeans for July delivery stood at $15.2063 a bushel at 8:28 GMT, down 0,77% on the day. According to USDAs report 57% of the nations crop was planted as of June 2. This is 13% higher than last week, but still significantly below the five-year average of 74%. As of June 2 2012, 93% of the soybeans crop was planted.