SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat gained more ground on Thursday, with prices climbing to their highest in almost two weeks on worries about dry weather slowing the pace of planting in top exporter Russia. Soybeans rose on worries over dryness in Brazil, while corn edged lower.

“The weather outlook in Russia and some other exporting countries are supportive for prices,” said one trader in Singapore. “But we think it might be early to get too worried about 2025 crop. There is still plenty of wheat coming from the Black Sea region.”

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.5% at $5.92 a bushel, as of 0312 GMT, having climbed earlier in the session to $5.93, the highest since Sept. 16.

Soybeans added 0.2% to $10.55 a bushel, while corn dipped 0.1% to $4.15 a bushel. Winter wheat sowing rates in Russia have fallen to an 11-year low due to drought in key producing regions, clouding the outlook for the 2025 grain harvest, the Sovecon consultancy said. Renewed worries about dry conditions that have stalled the start of soybean planting in top producer Brazil are likely to support prices. Only “spotty” rains are expected over the next two weeks in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s top soybean-growing state, the Commodity Weather Group said in a client note.

Brazilian drought has also halted the transport of grains through the Madeira river, an important northern waterway linking key croplands with the country’s ports, regional port terminals association Amport said.

Argentine farmers are seen favouring soy over corn in the 2024/25 season on soybeans’ profitability and as fears of a stunt disease hitting corn persist, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said on Wednesday. Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT soybean, soyoil, corn, wheat and soymeal futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.