Wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade closed higher on Friday, reaching one-month highs as worries about yield potential in the Black Sea region and the US Plains prompted speculative buying, traders said. Hot and dry weather remained a concern in Ukraine and Russia, while excessive rain was the problem in the southern US Plains.
In Kansas, the largest US wheat producing state, rains were spreading diseases that were likely to cut yield potential of the hard red winter wheat crop. "We've got a plethora of foliar leaf diseases - leaf rust, tan spot, powdery mildew. You name it, we got it," Kansas State University extension agronomist Jim Shroyer said. "They are going to take their share, a big share, out of the yield potential of the wheat that survived the freeze."
Traders also noted talk that all CBOT markets were seeing fresh fund money moving in on the first business day of the month. Commodity funds bought 4,000 wheat contracts, traders said. CBOT July wheat ended up 3-3/4 cents at $5.20-3/4 per bushel. The market made a run at the contract's April 26 top of $5.33-3/4, but fell short as profit-taking emerged at the day's high of $5.30-1/2.
Contract highs were hit in most deferred months, including September and December, which settled up 4 cents at $5.47 after reaching $5.54. Volume was heavy, estimated by the CBOT at 93,726 wheat futures and 20,669 options.
A strong number for wheat in the US Agriculture Department's weekly export sales report added support. The USDA on Friday reported weekly export sales of US wheat at 709,900 tonnes (old and new crop years combined), above trade estimates for 250,000 to 450,000 tonnes.
After the close, fresh export demand emerged. Egypt's main wheat buyer said it was seeking 55,000 to 60,000 tonnes of US, French, Australian, German, Argentine and/or Kazakh wheat for shipment July 1-10. Tender results were expected on Saturday and should shape opening calls in CBOT wheat on Monday.
On the world wheat front, heavy rain and hailstones hit China's major wheat areas as farmers were harvesting, the agriculture ministry said. The bad weather damaged crops in Henan, the country's largest wheat area, as well as Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Jiangsu. Ukraine's government failed to take action to allow free wheat exports from June 1 as it had promised earlier this week.
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