Midwest Deluge Drives Corn to Biggest Quarterly Gain Since 2010

(Bloomberg) -- Corn futures headed for the biggest quarterly gain since the end of 2010 after the spring deluge in the U.S. Midwest left planting at the slowest since records dating back to 1980, eroding prospects for production.

Cotton went in the other direction. The fiber was poised for the steepest quarterly slump since the three months ended September 2014, partly as U.S.-China trade tensions capped demand.

As of Thursday, corn on the Chicago Board of Trade rose 27% in the quarter, and cotton on ICE Futures U.S. in New York dropped 15%.

In other markets for the most-active contracts:

• Wheat surged 19% in the quarter, set for the biggest gain in two years.
• Raw sugar headed for the third straight quarterly gain, the longest rally since September 2016.
• Arabica coffee was up 13%, the most in three years
• Cocoa climbed 7.6%, and orange juice slumped 15%, the most in two years.

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Hirtzer in Chicago at mhirtzer@bloomberg.net;Shruti Date Singh in Chicago at ssingh28@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net, Patrick McKiernan, Joe Carroll

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