US wheat futures surged about 6 percent on Thursday as a softer dollar inspired funds to cover short positions, analysts said. Corn followed wheat higher while soyabeans sagged after a private forecast for record-high US soyabean plantings. At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 12:37 pm (1737 GMT), July wheat was up 28 cents at $5.09-1/2 per bushel after reaching $5.11-1/4, its highest level in a month. July corn was up 4-1/2 cents at $3.66-3/4 a bushel while July soyabeans were down 2-1/4 cents at $9.55 a bushel.
Wheat's rise marked the biggest daily move for the most active contract since June 2012. But analysts struggled to find a catalyst, other than commodity funds holding a massive net short position in CBOT wheat. "Any news that is out there is basically an excuse. There has been some chatter about maybe some export business, but the larger thing is that we have built up record large short positions," said Arlan Suderman, market analyst with Water Street Solutions.
CBOT corn followed wheat higher, despite disappointing weekly US corn export sales of 370,000 tonnes, a low for the current 2014/15 marketing year. Soyabeans sagged after private analytics firm Informa Economics projected US 2015 soyabean plantings at 87.2 million acres, a potential record high more than 2.5 million acres above the US Agriculture Department's current forecast. USDA this week projected that US 2015/16 soya ending stocks would reach 500 million bushels, the most in nine years, based on its plantings forecast of 84.6 million acres. Larger plantings could translate into even bigger stocks. Global soya supplies are also ample. Argentina's 2014/15 soya production will hit a record 59.6 million tonnes, the Rosario Grains Exchange said on Wednesday.
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