Corn futures fell 1 percent to the lowest price in 10 years amid signs that U.S. farmers will harvest a bumper crop earlier than usual, reducing the chance that a frost will erode already abundant supplies.
“The prospects for the 1998 corn crop continue to shine,” said Tom Levis, grain analyst with Prudential Securities Inc. in Chicago. Without a significant increase in grain exports, “corn is mostly going to continue with negative prices,” he said.
Corn for December delivery, representing supplies after the harvest, fell 2 cents, or 1 percent, to $2.135 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, a new contract low. September corn, reflecting supplies in storage, fell 2.25 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $2.035 a bushel, the lowest closing price since May 1988.
Meanwhile, hog futures dropped to the lowest price in nine years on expectations supplies will grow.
“There is no urgency on the part of the meatpackers to buy” hogs, said Sarah Kent, who with her husband, Rob, raises 3,000 hogs a year in Auburn, Iowa. “Hogs are just adding on more pounds, and that, coupled with peak supply in the fall, means we could lose even more” in prices and profits.
Hogs for October delivery fell 0.85 cent, or 2 percent, to 40.75 cents on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the lowest settlement for the most active contract since Sept. 14, 1989.
Hogs have fallen 43 percent over the last 12 months.
