Wheat, Corn Gain As Indian Monsoon May Cut Production; Soy Rises

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-03/wheat-corn-gain-as-indian-monsoon-may-cut-production-soy-rises.html

Wheat and corn gained for the first time in four days as the lightest Indian monsoon in three years may curb global production already hurt by dry weather in the U.S., Russia and Australia. Soybeans also rose.

Monsoon rains may be 85 percent of a 50-year average, the India Meteorological Department said today. Rainfall in the country, the world’s second-biggest wheat producer, is 20 percent below normal this season, the department said. U.S. corn yields may fall as low as 118 bushels an acre, Deutsche Bank said today. That’s below a government forecast of 146 bushels an acre.

“That Indian monsoon is going to be disappointing,” Mike Zuzolo, the president of Global Commodity Analytics & Consulting in Lafayette, Indiana, said by telephone. “Some of the northwestern provinces are having a drought, and that’s bringing a lift to the market.”

Wheat futures for September delivery rose 3 percent to settle at $8.9125 a bushel at 2 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price fell 0.8 percent this week.