US wheat rose to its highest in more than a week on Wednesday, up for a second straight session on technical buying and concerns about global production prospects, traders said. Corn was also higher, but soyabeans fell, erasing most of a 1.7 percent rally a day earlier, in light trade ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday.
At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 1:00 pm CST (1900 GMT), most-active March wheat was up 5 cents at $5.62-3/4 a bushel, while the spot December contract was up 11 cents at $5.62-1/2. Front-month December wheat gained versus back months as traders exited positions ahead of first notice day for deliveries against the contract, with analysts expecting few, if any, deliveries.
Poor weather in the Black Sea region as well as parts of Australia and the United States added support. "We have got wheat here, but there is reason to think that overseas crops are not so good, with problems in Australia and parts of Russia," said Jack Scoville of the Price Futures Group in Chicago.
CBOT March corn was up 4 cents at $3.91-1/4 a bushel, gaining against soyabeans on inter-market spreads. January soyabeans were down 5-1/2 cents at $10.45-1/2 per bushel as traders focused on generally favourable crop weather in Brazil. "South American weather forecasts are beneficial as farmers continue to plant beans and corn," Helen Pound, a vice president with KCG Futures in Minneapolis, wrote in a note to clients. One exception to the weak trend in soyabeans and soyameal was the front December soyameal contract, which was up $9.70 at $400.20 per short ton. Traders and analysts expect no deliveries on Friday against December soyameal futures due to strong domestic cash values.