US wheat futures rose on Friday, supported by results from an annual crop tour that projected below-average yields in Kansas, the top productions state for the grain, traders said. End-of-week short covering and some bargain buying following a 1.4 percent decline on Thursday also buoyed prices.
Corn and soyabeans were slightly firmer, with gains kept in check by expectations that the US Agriculture Department's crop progress report on Monday afternoon will bolster harvest expectations for both crops. "Planting progress made great strides up until the rains occurred this week," said Greg Grow, director of agribusiness at Archer Financial Services in Chicago. "We are well ahead of normal, especially for corn, and summer forecast remains pretty good for potential."
Chicago Board of Trade wheat for July delivery was up 6-1/2 cents at $4.79-1/4 a bushel at 10:54 a.m. CDT (1554 GMT). For the week, the contract has risen 1.3 percent, snapping a streak of four straight weekly losses for the most actively traded contract. The winter wheat crop in Kansas should be below average in 2015, reflecting drought, bouts of freezing temperatures and crop diseases, scouts on the Wheat Quality Council's annual tour found.
Hard red winter wheat production was projected at 288.5 million bushels, above last year's official US Department of Agriculture output of 246.4 million bushels but below the five-year crop tour average of 313.6 million bushels. Concerns about a turn to colder weather damaging some of the crop in the US Plains provided further support to wheat. CBOT July soyabeans were 2-1/4 cents higher at $9.77-1/4 a bushel, on track for a weekly gain of 1.3 percent. CBOT July corn, which has dropped 0.2 percent this week, was up 1-1/4 cents at $3.62-3/4 a bushel.