Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures touched their highest prices in more than a month on Friday on technical buying and worries about poor crop weather reducing harvests in Europe and the Black Sea region, traders said. Chicago Board of Trade September soft red winter wheat climbed 11-3/4 cents to $5.16 per bushel. This most active contract traded up to $5.19-3/4, its highest since June 13, before paring gains. It ended up about 3.8 percent on the week.
European wheat futures also extended gains on Friday, with benchmark prices in Paris hitting a one-year high, as a worsening harvest outlook encouraged buying and pushed futures through chart resistance. In France, consultancy Agritel forecast this year's soft wheat crop at 34.2 million tonnes, down 6.5 percent from last year.
Crop losses are also expected in Britain, Germany, Poland and Ukraine, and could increase export demand for US wheat, traders said.