Soybean futures drop to a 5-month low, but corn, wheat prices rise after USDA reports

Soybean futures fell Friday, poised for a their lowest settlement since October after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said prospective plantings of the crop are likely to reach a record this year. Soybean planted area for 2017 is estimated at a record high of 89.5 million acres, up 7% from last year, according to the USDA’s Prospective Plantings report. The report showed that farmers are "signaling their intentions to plant more soybean acres than ever before," said Sal Gilbertie, president and chief investment officer at Teucrium Trading LLC. "But those new soybean acres are being added at the expense of corn acres, which is sending corn prices higher by more than 1% post report," he said. Gilbertie also noted that wheat farmers "intend to plant the lowest number of wheat acres," based on records from the USDA. May soybeans traded at $9.505 a bushel in Chicago, down 1.3%. Prices have been trading around a five-month low for the past week. May corn was at $3.64 a bushel, up 1.9%. May wheat rose 2.2% to $4.30 a bushel.

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