Wheat futures at the Chicago Board of Trade were up sharply at midday on Wednesday, rallying from early declines as worries about US harvest delays and tight global supplies prompted speculative buying, traders said. Kansas City Board of Trade hard red winter wheat led the way up, with front-month KCBT July rising to a fresh 11-year high at $5.75.
News that India will tender for 2 million tonnes of wheat by the end of June added support. As of 11:40 am CDT (1640 GMT), CBOT July wheat was up 8-1/2 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $5.73-1/2, just shy of its 11-year high of $5.76 set earlier this week. Back months were up 7-1/4 to down 2 cents.
J.P. Morgan was an early buyer of 30 July contracts while FC Stone bought 1,000 September $6.10 calls, traders said. Rains in the US Plains hard red winter wheat belt continue to disrupt harvest progress.
"Especially where most of the harvest is concentrated right now in Texas and Oklahoma, they are going to be in and out of showers at least through the weekend," DTN Meteorlogix forecaster Mike Palmerino said. Concerns about drought in Ukraine and Russia remained supportive. France's crops office, ONIGC, estimated France's 2006/07 ending stocks of soft wheat at 2.15 million tonnes, up from 2.12 million in May but down 23 percent from last year.