JAKARTA: Wheat futures gained for a fourth consecutive session on Friday and were set to post a weekly gain, supported by concerns around poor Russian winter wheat crop.
Chicago corn rose for a second session and was set to post a third weekly gain as Brazil’s November corn exports dropped by 36% from a year ago and soybeans slipped after a session of gains.
Both contracts are heading for weekly gains. “Reduced wheat production in Russia would severely limit the available stocks for global exports.
This comes at a time when the stocks-to-use ratio of the top eight wheat exporters are at greater than decade lows,“ said Andrew Whitelaw at agricultural consultants Episode 3 in Canberra.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) gained 0.13% at $5.59 a bushel, as of 0313 GMT, rising 2% for the week.
Russian winter crops are in poor condition and will need to be partially replaced by spring crops, while the outlook for next year’s harvest remains difficult to predict, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said.
On top of Russian winter crops’ condition, Ukraine’s current shipping capabilities could soon come under threat, Reuters market analyst Karen Braun said, raising concern over Black Sea wheat. Russia and Ukraine accounted for a third of global wheat exports last marketing year.
Argentina’s wheat crop could come in higher than previously expected, the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange said, with farmers reporting better yields as the harvest is underway.
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Canadian farmers reported producing more wheat and oats and less canola and barley in 2024 than a year earlier, a farm survey by Statistics Canada showed.
The most active soybean contract in Chicago Board of Trade was down 0.28% to $9.91 a bushel, as of 0313 GMT, while corn rose a quarter of a cent to $4.35-1/4 a bushel.
Brazil’s soybean exports dropped 50% in November from a year ago, while its corn exports fell 36%, government data showed.
Basis bids for soybeans remained mostly unchanged in the US Midwest on Thursday as farmers awaited higher prices to book sales, brokers said.
Exporters sold 136,000 metric tons of US soybeans to top-importer China for 2024-25 delivery, the US Department of Agriculture said.
Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn, wheat, soybean, soymeal and soyoil futures contracts on Thursday, traders said.
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