Corn extended losses from a one- month high on speculation that increasing supplies of low- quality wheat and a strengthening dollar may erode demand for the grain as livestock feed. March-delivery corn fell as much as 0.6 percent to $5.84 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $5.85 at 3:08 p.m. Tokyo time. The price reached $5.89 yesterday, the highest for a most-active contract since Nov. 10. Wet weather may result in 60 percent of the wheat crop in three Australian states being classified as feed-quality, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said on Dec. 10. As much as 30 percent of the country’s estimated 14.3 million metric tons of exports may be suitable only for animal feed, said Wayne Gordon, a Rabobank International analyst in Sydney. “The Australian wheat-crop situation has been a bullish factor for U.S. wheat, while that’s been a negative one for U.S. corn in the feed-grain export market,” said Toshimitsu Kawanabe, an analyst at commodity broker Central Shoji Co. The dollar’s gain also put pressure on the market, he said. The dollar rose for a second day against the euro before a report that economists said will show U.S. industrial production expanded last month, adding to signs the economic recovery is gathering pace. The U.S. currency was at $1.3335 per euro from $1.3378 in New York yesterday. A rise in the dollar reduces the appeal of U.S. crops to importers holding other currencies. March-delivery soybeans rose as much as 0.8 percent to $13.17 a bushel and last traded at $13.105. The contract lost 0.5 percent yesterday after touching $13.2075, the highest since Nov. 12. Canola Damage “Australia’s canola crop damage is a supportive factor for U.S. soybeans,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at IDO Securities Co. As much as 14 percent of Australia’s canola crop may be unsuitable for crushing after heavy rains hurt harvest quality and the damage will be assessed by processors over the next week, according to an industry group. Canola, or rapeseed, is also crushed for oil and livestock feed. “An as-yet-unknown quantity of weather-affected seed, mostly sprouted, could place up to 300,000 tons at risk,” the Sydney-based Australian Oilseeds Federation said in a report today. The group raised its output estimate to 2.1 million tons compared with November’s forecast of 2.045 million tons and 1.9 million tons gathered last season, the report said. Wheat for March delivery lost 0.2 percent to $7.62 a bushel after trading between $7.61 and $7.6575. It fell 2.2 percent yesterday, the biggest drop since Nov. 16. U.S. wheat inspected for export dropped 16 percent to 18 million bushels in the week ended Dec. 9, compared with a week earlier, the Department of Agriculture said Dec. 13. In the export market, Egypt, the world’s biggest wheat importer, plans to buy at least 55,000 tons of soft wheat and hard wheat each in two separate tenders today for shipping Feb. 20 to Feb. 28. Japan is seeking to buy 71,563 tons of milling wheat from Australia in a tender tomorrow, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said yesterday. 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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