Wheat prices on the Chicago Board of Trade climbed to a six-month high on Tuesday as the market focused on whether Russia will curb exports as a result of pressure on the rouble. Soyabeans fell to a one-week low on improving South American crop prospects and softening values for soyameal while corn retreated from multi-month highs set a day earlier.
At the CBOT as of 12:25 pm CST (1825 GMT), March wheat was up 8-1/2 cents at $6.27-1/2 after reaching $6.39, the highest spot price in 6-1/2 months. January soyabeans were down 15-1/4 cents at $10.24-1/4 a bushel and March corn fell 1-1/4 cents at $4.07-1/4 a bushel. Russia's economic woes remained the focus among wheat traders. Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said that Russia, one of the world's key wheat exporters, would only use its grain restocking programme to regulate exports, which are running at a record pace due to a slump in the rouble.
But analysts speculated that runaway inflation might force the government to take stronger action to protect domestic bread prices. "I think the minister is quite honest when he says this, but life can force him to change his mind," said Andrey Sizov, the head of SovEcon agriculture consultancy. CBOT wheat pared gains at midsession on profit-taking as the rouble came off its lows.
Soyabeans fell, led by soyameal amid softening South American cash meal values, traders said. Additional pressure stemmed from favourable weather in South America that is bolstering prospects for developing soya crops. Corn set back from a five-month high set Monday as traders booked profits and farmers took advantage of the rally, selling portions of their record-large 2014 harvest.
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