CHICAGO: Chicago wheat futures rose as uncertainty over the size of Russia’s wheat crop spurred traders to cover their massive short positions while cheap prices enticed bargain buying, traders said. Meanwhile, corn futures fell on prolonged fallout from the US Department of Agriculture’s Friday acreage report that showed farmers had planted more corn than expected, and on forecasts of beneficial weather for the US corn belt.
Soybeans rose on signs of increased demand. The most active Chicago Board of Trade wheat contract was up 11-1/2 cents at $5.85-1/2 a bushel as of 1540 GMT. “The market is so oversold right now,” Darin Fessler, hedge advisor at Lakefront Futures and Options, said. “Traders don’t want to be short this market if they still don’t have numbers from Russia.”
An uptick in demand for US wheat as well as a US winter wheat harvest that is edging toward the finish line is adding support to wheat prices, traders said.
Corn fell 3-1/4 cents to $4.05 a bushel. The market had slumped to a low of $3.99-1/2 on Friday after USDA data was released, the lowest level since November 2020. Soybeans rose 11 cents to $11.44-1/2 per bushel. US farmers planted more corn than the government forecast in March and less soybeans, the USDA data showed on Friday. “The acres are going to haunt us for a long, long time,” Fessler said. Increased Chinese demand for US soy and stronger soymeal and oil prices are helping soy future
Comments