March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Soybean and corn futures in Chicago gained for a second day on speculation the dollar's decline will increase export demand for U.S. supplies.

The dollar fell today to a record low of $1.5651 against the euro and declined yesterday to 99.77 yen, the weakest level in 12 years, on concern widening losses in credit markets will further crimp U.S. economic growth. The slump in the currency helped push the prices of oil and gold to record highs yesterday.

``The dollar's weakness helps boost the prices of commodities, including soybeans and corn,'' Hiroyuki Kikukawa, an analyst at IDO Securities in Tokyo, said by phone today. ``The declining dollar partly offsets the gains in grain prices, helping reduce import costs.''

Soybeans for May delivery rose as much as 19.75 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $14.225 a bushel in after-hours electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade and traded at $14.12 as of 11:32 a.m. London time.

The most-active contract has gained 92 percent in the past year, reaching a record $15.8625 a bushel on March 3, as U.S. farmers planted the fewest acres in more than a decade.

U.S. soybean export sales jumped 27 percent in the week ended March 6 to 257,600 metric tons from a week earlier, the Department of Agriculture said yesterday. Corn export sales rose 19 percent to 768,800 tons for the week, it said.

The USDA has forecast soybean exports will drop 8.3 percent in the year ending Aug. 31. Instead, sales since Sept. 1 are unchanged from a year earlier at 26.1 million tons, government data show.

Corn Sales

U.S. corn sales as of March 6 were up 29 percent since Sept. 1 compared with the same period a year earlier, ahead of the government forecast for a 15 percent gain by the end of August, the USDA said.

``The sales data for U.S. soybeans and corn showed demand remains strong despite record prices,'' Kikukawa said.

Corn for May delivery advanced as much as 5.5 cents, or 1 percent, to $5.75 a bushel and traded at $5.73 as of 11:33 a.m. London time. The contract, which yesterday touched the record $5.795 reached on March 11, has risen 42 percent in the past year on record demand for ethanol and animal feed.

Crude oil rose to a record $111 a barrel and gold traded above $1,000 an ounce for the first time yesterday as investors poured money into commodities as a hedge against slumping equity markets and accelerating inflation.

Wheat for May delivery in Chicago fell as much as 17 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $12.27 a bushel and stood at $12.3525 as of 11:33 a.m. London time. The contract lost 3 percent yesterday after the USDA said export sales plunged 51 percent to 210,100 tons in the week ending March 6 from a week earlier.

The most-active contract has more than doubled in the past year and reached a record $13.495 on Feb. 27 on speculation farmers wouldn't produce enough to meet global demand.

Milling wheat for May delivery gained 25 cents, or 0.1 percent, to 287 euros ($446) a ton as of 12:34 p.m. in Paris.

To contact the reporter for this story: Jae Hur in Singapore at jhur1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 14, 2008 07:36 EDT