------------------------------------------------- Corn jumps to 10-month top, soy near 4-year high Jul 3, 2012 9:14am IST
* December corn rises 1.5 pct, hits highest since August * Soy firms, spot-month trades near 4-year peak * USDA slashes corn, soybean condition ratings * Harsh weather this week may inflict more damage
(Adds details, quotes) By Naveen Thukral SINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters) - Chicago corn rose to a 10-month top on Tuesday, stretching gains into a third straight session, while soybeans surged to their highest in almost four years as a U.S. report cut crop condition ratings in a fresh blow to world corn and soy supplies. Wheat also jumped to a 10-month high, buoyed by lower supplies from the Black Sea region and tracking corn's rally. Extreme hot and dry weather has taken a toll on the U.S. corn and soybean crops with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday slashing its condition rating for U.S. corn to 48 percent good-to-excellent, down 8 percentage points from a week earlier. It pegged the soybean crop at 45 percent good-to-excellent, compared with 53 percent a week ago.
"The market is on fire, it is just rising higher," said Abah Ofon, an analyst at Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. "The yields are going to be decimated if this hot weather continues in the U.S. and the huge crops that we are looking for are not going to be achieved."
