Soybeans climb on dryness, storm damage sends corn to 1-month peak

CHICAGO: Chicago soybean futures rallied on Monday to a nearly-seven-month high on dry weather and continued exports to China.

Corn futures found a one-month peak on widespread damage from last week's storm packing hurricane-force winds that impacted about 38 million acres of farmland across the US Midwest, flattening crops and destroying grain bins.

Wheat futures buoyed with the grain complex as U.S harvest nears completion, traders said.

The most active Chicago Board of Trade soybean contract added 17-3/4 cents to $9.16-1/2 a bushel by 11:02 a.m. (1511 GMT), the highest since Jan. 22.

CBOT corn rose 5-1/4 cents to $3.43-1/4 a bushel, after hitting $3.43-3/4, the highest since July 10. Wheat added 16 cents to 5.25-1/2 a bushel.

August has been one of the driest on record, during a crucial period in soybean development. Dryness could trim supply of US soybeans, which are cheaper than oilseeds of other exporting countries.

"This dryness is taking the top end off of yields, at a time when US soybeans are 80 cents cheaper at the gulf than they are in Brazil," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading.

The US Department of Agriculture announced sales of US soybeans to China the last eight business days, though none were reported Monday.

Corn futures climbed as much of the US Midwest attempts to assess last week's "derecho" damage, while continuing to ride a bullish USDA supply and demand report.

"I think it's the 1-2-3 punch," said Don Roose, president of US Commodities, noting funds traders were caught short by last week's storm. "It's not just one thing, it's the pile on."

Wheat climbed for a third consecutive day, the biggest gain since July 15 as exporters sold 130,000 tonnes of hard red winter wheat on Monday, bound for unknown destinations, according to the USDA.