US MIDDAY: wheat higher

MGEX spring wheat futures surged to a 2-1/2 year high on Friday and Chicago Board of Trade corn futures dipped to a six-month low in technically driven trade amid an outlook for generally favourable US crop weather, traders said. Soybean futures touched the lowest levels in more than a year as dealers squared positions ahead of the weekend and a US Department of Agriculture quarterly stocks and US acreage report due on June 30.
Spring wheat futures gained in the previous session while most other agriculture futures declined. Prices extended their rally on Friday, with front-month MGEX July spring wheat up 9-1/4 cents to $6.65-1/2 per bushel by 12:28 pm CDT (1728 GMT). Global benchmark CBOT July wheat was up 1 cent at $4.62-1/4 per bushel and K.C. July HRW wheat futures were down 1 cent at $4.66-3/4.
"(Thursday) was a bullish reversal. Today you have the follow-through," independent trader Austin Damiani said by phone from the MGEX trading floor in Minneapolis. "Momentum is really engaged right now. Friday, sometimes you just go with the trend." Hot temperatures and dry conditions this year in the spring wheat growing area of the Dakotas damaged young wheat plants, pushing up prices for the high-protein variety just as the hard red winter wheat harvest started to come in with low protein content in the southern Plains.
In Europe, dry weather last week resulted in declining crop conditions for the French soft wheat crop, data from farming agency FranceAgriMer showed, suggesting crops were already suffering before a heatwave this week. CBOT July corn fell to fresh lows at midday, easing 3-3/4 cents to $3.59 per bushel, the lowest levels seen so far in 2017.
CBOT July soybean futures edged down 1/2 cent to $9.03-1/2 per bushel, up from their session low of $9.00-1/2. Soybeans on a continuous chart have not breached psychological support of $9 since March 31, 2016. The USDA will estimate how many acres US farmers planted of each crop after preliminary data in March showed record-large soybean intended acres.
Cooler temperatures were forecast during the next week for developing corn, soy and spring wheat crops in the US Midwest and northern Plains. A widespread rain event also was predicted around the end of the month, according to Thomson Reuters Weather Research. "Weather concerns for US corn and soybean crops have eased, both markets in bearish mood," said Kaname Gokon of Tokyo brokerage Okato Shoji.