US wheat futures jumped 3.8 percent to their highest in three years on Thursday, supported by concerns that global crop shortfalls will further tighten supplies and cause key exporters to limit shipments, traders said. The gains in wheat spilled over to the corn market, which also benefited from strong demand for the yellow grain.
But soyabean futures weakened amid escalations in the tariff fight with China. Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures have risen for four days in a row, rallying as farmers in Europe wrap up their harvests and crop-watchers lower their production outlook for key suppliers.
There was talk of Ukraine limiting its exports due to crop woes. At 11:07 a.m. CDT (1547 GMT), CBOT September soft red winter wheat futures were up 21-3/4 cents at $5.80 a bushel. The front-month contract peaked at its highest since July 2, 2015.
Early gains spurred a round of short-covering. There also were concerns about disappointing yields in spring wheat growing areas of the United States and drought in Australia limiting production there. CBOT November soyabean futures were off 5 cents at $8.96-3/4 a bushel. Soyabeans found support at the contract's 10-day moving average.
The US Agriculture Department on Thursday morning reported weekly export sales of soyabeans at 637,000 tonnes, near the low end of forecasts for 450,000 tonnes to 1.2 million tonnes.
CBOT September corn futures were up 5-3/4 cents at $3.70-3/4 a bushel, on track for a higher close for the sixth time in seven sessions. Corn export sales came in at 1.278 million tonnes, near the high end of forecasts for 700,000 tonnes to 1.4 million tonnes.
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