Corn, soybean prices dive on warm weather forecasts

Other commodities traded mostly lower, with crude oil falling from a record above $117 and silver and copper also retreating.

Dry, warm weather is expected this week across the U.S. corn belt after days of heavy rainfall that have soaked fields and slowed spring planting. The favorable forecast raised hopes that planting could resume at a faster pace, touching off a broad agriculture sell-off in everything from corn to wheat to oats.

"Planting is still going to be very slow, but we have a drier outlook for this week, so you've got prices dropping back," said Jason Ward, analyst with North Star Commodity in Minneapolis.

Soybeans for May delivery fell 44.5 cents to $13.17 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after earlier dropping as low as $12.915, its lowest level in two weeks. Corn for May delivery lost 19.5 cents to $5.80 a bushel on the CBOT after earlier falling as low as $5.695.

The agricultural decline also affected wheat prices, which shed 27.5 cents to fetch $8.425 a bushel for the May contract.

Also pressuring agriculture prices was last week's rally on Wall Street, when investors sent the major market indexes up 4 percent.

"You're starting to make new highs on the stock market so you're going to start drawing some capital to stocks and out of commodities," Ward said.

In energy futures, crude oil shot up to a new record above $117 after an attack on a Japanese oil tanker in the Middle East. Crude has surged to new records for six trading sessions in a row. Experts say prices could soar even higher heading into the busy summer driving season.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose to a record $117.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back to $116.46, down 23 cents.