Food crisis fear is Rising - Expensive food and energy might keep Obama out of the Oval office.

Food crisis fear is Rising - Expensive food and energy might keep Obama out of the Oval office.(Reuters).
* Soybeans set record high
* Corn front-month hits record top, off peak
* Wheat nears four-year high
* U.S. govt forecasts hot, dry weather to continue.
Corn and soybeans soared to record highs on Thursday as the worsening drought in the U.S. farm belt stirred fears of a food crisis, with prices coming off peaks after investors cashed out of the biggest grains rally since 2008. Corn prices crossed into uncharted territory above $8 per bushel -- about three-and-a-half times the average price 10 years ago of $2.28. Soybeans punched past $17 for the first time -- also three-and-a-half times the 2002 average. 
Analysts said that while forecasts for continued dry weather are expected to sustain the rally, corn prices could be vulnerable to any move by the government to lower the amount of corn-based ethanol blenders are required to mix with gasoline. Even as chatter about a possible revision of the ethanol mandate has escalated, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the former governor of top farm state Iowa, has ruled out such a move. "The only thing that can stop this rally is if they pull the mandate," said grains analyst Mark Kinoff, president of Ceres Hedge in Chicago. "In two weeks, if corn prices are $2 higher they might change their tune," he added.
"Obama would need inexpensive food and energy to get back into the Oval office," he said of President Barack Obama and his campaign to win reelection in November. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast above-normal temperatures and below-average precipitation for the Midwest through October. The high prices for corn and soybeans in the world's largest grain-exporting nation were beginning to dent sales. U.S. government data showed sales of soybeans to buyers overseas fell last week to the lowest level in six months. For corn, the weekly sales were one-fifth of a year ago, with Taiwan choosing to cancel a large purchase. Concerns were growing that high prices could trigger a food crisis like that in 2008, when food shortages triggered riots in some countries. "I hesitate to use those words (food crisis) but the circumstances are more severe now than they were in 2008," said Dennis Gartman, a commodity trader and editor/publisher of The Gartman Letter.Hmmmm.....Seems even 'Mother Nature' wants CHANGE in 2012.Read the full story here.