By Rudy Ruitenberg and Luzi Ann Javier Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat fell for a fifth day in Chicago on speculation that a stronger dollar may hurt demand for U.S. grain from importing nations. Corn declined for an eighth session in a row. The U.S. Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the strength of the greenback, rose for a third day, adding as much as 0.6 percent to the highest level since September. Gains by the dollar make raw materials priced in the currency more expensive for holders of other monies. “U.S. wheat is sliding with the strong recovery of the dollar,” French farm adviser Offre et Demande Agricole said in a market comment. Prices dropped yesterday as figures showed that the U.S. last week inspected the lowest weekly volume of wheat for export since June, stoking concern about slack demand. Wheat for March delivery fell as much as 0.8 percent to $4.9375 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The contract was at $4.9475 at 11:47 a.m. Paris time. Milling wheat for delivery in March traded on Liffe in Paris rose 0.6 percent to 126.50 euros ($177.50) a metric ton. Corn for March delivery shed as much as 0.7 percent to $3.655 a bushel in Chicago and was last at $3.6775. World corn output may reach a record 31.4 billion bushels (796.5 million tons) in the year ending Sept. 30 as the U.S. harvest, the world’s largest, jumps 8.8 percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Jan. 12. Soybeans Climb Soybeans rose from the lowest price since October on speculation that a 9.4 percent slump this year through yesterday may attract importers and investors. Futures for March delivery added as much as 0.9 percent to $9.5825 a bushel and were recently at $9.55. Yesterday the oilseed touched $9.4075, the lowest price for the most-active contract since Oct. 9. At yesterday’s close, soybeans had dropped in nine of this year’s 12 sessions on speculation that rains in Brazil and Argentina may boost global output forecast by the USDA last week to rise to a record 253.4 million tons this year. The countries are the second- and third-largest exporters, respectively. That price drop is “going to uncover some demand,” said Luke Mathews, an agricultural commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “It’s just a question of how strong will that demand turn out to be.” To contact the reporters on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net; Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net.

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