Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat futures rose 1.2 percent on Wednesday, pulled higher by concerns that rainy weather may delay harvesting of the crop in the US Midwest, traders said. "While heavy rains from Tropical Storm Bill won't impact many hard red winter wheat acres, that system will keep fields in the eastern Midwest (planted with soft red winter wheat) too wet over the next seven days," Farm Futures market analyst Bryce Knorr said in a note to clients.
Some weather concerns also helped support soyabeans, which hit their highest since May 14 as the rain stoked fears that wet soils would prevent some growers from planting as much acreage of the oilseed as they intended. "Whether one wants to talk about old crop or new crop, soyabeans seem to have the cash market strength, profitable end users, solid demand, wet forecasts, unplanted acres, tightening back end spreads and critical yield-determining plant dates already passing by," Tregg Cronin, market analyst with Halo Commodities, said.
CBOT July soft red winter wheat futures were up 5-1/4 cents at $4.94 a bushel at 10:43 am CDT (1543 GMT) while CBOT July soyabeans gained 8-1/2 cents to $9.66 a bushel. The strength in soyabeans and wheat spilled over into corn, which also were supported by technical buying. CBOT July corn was up 5-1/4 cents at $3.59-1/4 a bushel. The contract broke through resistance at its 10- and 20-day moving averages. Traders also noted positioning ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy statement and news conference following a two-day meeting. Analysts were expecting the announcement will spell out how policymakers feel the economy has progressed since their last meeting in April, and particularly whether the labour market continues to strengthen.