Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat rose on Friday, supported by global supply concerns and an easing dollar.
Corn followed wheat higher, but gains were dragged down by pressure from a lower soybean market as U.S. farmers reap better-than-expected harvests of the oilseed.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) ended 14-3/4 cents higher at $7.56 a bushel, notching a three per cent weekly gain (all figures US$).
CBOT’s most-active corn gained 5-3/4 higher at $5.38 a bushel, climbing 2.33 per cent for the week.
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CBOT soybeans fell 3-1/2 cents lower at $12.20-1/2 a bushel.
“Wheat’s the mover, taking support from global demand,” said Karl Setzer, commodity risk analyst at Agrivisor.
Wheat markets continued to grapple with strong export demand as stockpiles are expected to decline in major exporting zones this season.
In Australia, robust demand for wheat is quickly filling up shipping slots as importers book cargoes ahead of what is expected to be a second year of near-record output.
Soybeans slipped, but were supported by firming crush margins.
“Harvest is going well, it seems like the yields are better than the USDA is saying,” said Ted Seifried, vice president of Zaner Group. “At the same time, crush margins have gotten substantially better for soybeans, both here in the United States and also in China.”
CBOT November/December board crush, an indicator of profit margins for soybean crushers, climbed to 182 cents a bushel, an 18.95 per cent weekly gain.
A pullback in vegetable oil markets capped soybeans.
CBOT corn found underlying support from talks of shifting U.S. acres toward soybeans next year due to climbing fertilizer costs, while beneficial rain for planting in Brazil and upward revisions to U.S. and European harvests curbed prices.
— Reporting for Reuters by Christopher Walljasper; additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Naveen Thukral in Singapore.
