COMMODITIES : Grain, Soybean Futures Fall After Rain Soaks Midwest

Unexpectedly heavy weekend rains in the drought-stricken Midwest sent grain and soybean futures plummeting Monday on the Chicago Board of Trade, and analysts predicted that prices would again fall their allowable limits today.

On other markets, livestock and meat futures were broadly mixed in reaction to the plunging grain prices, sugar prices fell, energy futures soared, precious metals advanced and stock index futures retreated.

The weekend showers in the Farm Belt should help stressed soybean plants recover and halt the deterioration of the corn crop, which is near the end of its critical pollination phase, analysts said.

Soybeans for July delivery skidded more than $1.09 a bushel, one of the steepest one-day soybean price declines in the exchange’s history. July corn plunged 30 cents a bushel. Prices for other corn and soybean contracts fell their respective limits of 15 cents and 45 cents a bushel.

Rich Feltes, director of commodities research for Refco Inc., a large, Chicago-based trading firm, called the price plunge “a train wreck” and “the biggest weather shocker of the summer.”

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