Chicago | Reuters — U.S. winter wheat futures rose for the sixth day in a row on Wednesday as adverse weather in key exporting countries raised supply concerns, traders said.
Corn futures were steady to firm, with the front-month contract ending flat while new-crop offerings rose on support from dry soils that threatened to hamper crop development in the U.S. Midwest.
“Corn belt rain events are still basically non-existent in the two-week forecast,” Matt Zeller, director of market information at StoneX, said in a note to clients.
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Soybean futures were mixed, with nearby contracts easing on concerns about biodiesel sector profits while new-crop contracts rose.
MGEX spring wheat futures dropped two per cent. Traders noted much of the concern about the size of the crop was priced in when the market surged to its highest since November 2012 on Monday.
“There are definitely problems for the U.S. and spring wheat crops but we will get to know how big the problem is when the harvest starts,” a Singapore-based trader who sells U.S. wheat to millers in Asia said.
MGEX September spring wheat ended down 18-1/4 cents at $8.97-3/4 a bushel (all figures US$). Chicago Board of Trade September soft red winter wheat was up 10-1/4 cents at $7.10-3/4 and K.C. September hard red winter wheat was up 8-3/4 cents at $6.69.
“Western Europe rains return by weekend and remain active much of next week, reducing wheat quality and stalling harvest,” Commodity Weather Group said in a note.
Russia’s agriculture ministry said that yields from the harvest of the country’s wheat crop averaged 3.45 tonnes per hectare as of July 20, down from 3.47 a year earlier.
CBOT December corn was up 2-1/4 cents at $5.68-1/2 a bushel after peaking at its highest since July 2.
CBOT November soybeans were 1-1/4 cents higher at $13.89-3/4 a bushel.
— Mark Weinraub is a Reuters commodities correspondent in Chicago; additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris.
