CHICAGO: US wheat and soyabean futures jumped more than 2% to multiyear highs on Tuesday, supported by concerns about dry weather in key production areas, traders said.

Corn futures hit their highest level in 8-1/2 months, joining in the broad-based rally as the pace of the US harvest fell below expectations despite near-perfect weather for field work.

The dry conditions in South America could boost already-robust demand for US supplies as farmers in Brazil struggle to get their crop in the ground.

At 10:20 a.m. CDT (1520 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade November soyabeans were up 25-1/4 cents at $10.46-3/4 a bushel.

On a continuous basis, the most-active soyabean contract peaked at $10.49-3/4 a bushel, its highest level since May 24, 2018.

A lack of rain in the coming days should further delay Brazil’s soyabean planting, consulting firm AgRural said on Monday.

Private exporters reported the sale of 154,400 tonnes of soyabeans to unknown destinations, the US Agriculture Department said on Tuesday morning.

CBOT July soft red winter wheat was up 12-3/4 cents at $5.97 a bushel. The most-active contract topped out at $6.01-3/4 a bushel, its highest price since July 1, 2015.

Dryness in Argentina will add stress to the developing wheat crop from that key exporter, forecaster Commodity Weather Group said in a note.

Traders also cited technical buying and short covering in wheat. CBOT December corn was up 7-1/2 cents at $3.87 a bushel, with the most active contract hitting its highest level since Jan. 24.