Corn, Soybean Futures Called Lower on Economic Concern; Wheat May Climb

What follows are opening calls for U.S. grain and oilseed markets.

-- Corn futures are called to open 3 cents to 5 cents a bushel lower on the Chicago Board of Trade on concern that a sagging global economy will reduce demand for food, livestock feed and fuel made from the grain, Jim Gerlach, the president of A/C Trading Inc. in Fowler, Indiana, said in a telephone interview.

-- Soybean futures may open 3 cents to 5 cents a bushel lower in Chicago as worldwide consumption ebbs, Gerlach said. Prices may rebound later on speculation that cold weather tomorrow may damage immature U.S. crops across the northern Midwest, he said. Soybean-oil futures are expected to open steady to down 0.1 cent a pound, and soybean-meal futures may open little changed.

-- Wheat futures may open steady to 3 cents a bushel higher on the CBOT on speculation that an emerging La Nina weather pattern will reduce global production next year, Gerlach said. Prices on the Kansas City Board of Trade and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange may fall 2 cents to 5 cents as rain in the southern U.S. Great Plains in the next week might boost soil moisture for planting winter crops, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Wilson in Chicago at jwilson29@bloomberg.net; Whitney McFerron in Chicago at wmcferron1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.