Soybeans fell for the first time in three days as some U.S. farmers sold the oilseed from stockpiles to lock in gains following their climb to the highest level in five weeks. Corn was little changed and wheat dropped. March-delivery soybeans lost as much as 0.3 percent to $13.23 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and traded at $13.24 at 12:24 p.m. Tokyo time. The price rose as much as 1.5 percent yesterday to $13.295, the highest level since Nov. 12. “Higher prices were enough to encourage U.S. farmers to sell and investors to unwind their bets on a price rise before the Christmas holiday,” said Toshimitsu Kawanabe, an analyst at commodity broker Central Shoji Co. Corn for March delivery was little changed at $6.0025 a bushel after trading between $5.985 and $6.0125. The contract reached $6.04 yesterday, the highest since Nov. 9. The spot-basis bid, or premium, for corn delivered in December at Gulf of Mexico ports fell yesterday to 46 cents to 50 cents a bushel above March futures, compared with 49 cents on Dec. 17, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. The premium for soybeans narrowed to 74 cents to 78 cents a bushel over January futures, from 74 cents to 82 cents on Dec. 17. The oilseed and corn gained yesterday on speculation that the demand for fuel made from the crops will increase, and as dry weather threatens crops in Argentina and Brazil. The U.S. is the biggest producer and exporter of both crops. Brazil is the second-biggest soybean shipper, followed by Argentina. Biodiesel Subsidy Congress last week passed an $858 billion tax-cut plan that includes incentives to help buoy demand for fuel made from crops. A $1-a-gallon incentive for biodiesel made from vegetable oils, which expired last year, will be extended for one year. U.S. ethanol output reached a record 939,000 barrels a day in the week ended Dec. 3, government data show. Wheat for March delivery lost as much as 0.6 percent to $7.65 a bushel and last traded at $7.6725. The price gained as much as 2.6 percent yesterday. National Australia Bank Ltd. estimated that “roughly half” of Australia’s 24 million metric ton wheat crop will be feed or downgraded quality this season. The cost of the overall downgrade may approach A$1 billion ($996 million), with losses from flooding still unclear at this stage, the bank said in a report today. South Korea will temporarily remove an import tariff on milling-wheat shipments from Jan. 1 to help “stabilize” local prices, the nation’s finance ministry said. A tariff on flour will also be cut to 2.5 percent from 4.2 percent and the moves will be effective until the end of June, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. To contact the reporter on this story: Jae Hur in Tokyo at jhur1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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