CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures on Friday climbed to their highest since October, as fears that cold weather in the Black Sea will damage crops triggered a burst of short covering by speculators who had been betting on lower prices.
Corn and soy futures held near multi-month highs, thanks to dry conditions in Argentina, a major exporter, and relief that US tariffs have not sparked full-blown trade conflicts impacting crop shipments.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.4% at $5.90-1/4 a bushel at 0416 GMT after reaching a high of $5.92-1/2.
Prices were on track to end the week up 5%. Rising corn and soy prices had pulled wheat higher but the contract remained under pressure from plentiful cheap Black Sea shipments.
However, colder weather is projected next week for wheat crops in Russia and Ukraine that are seen as vulnerable to frost after a mild winter so far.
Meanwhile, shipments are expected to slow in the coming months as Russia brings in a restrictive export quota.
“There’s growing certainty about poorer conditions for the Russian crop this year,” said Commonwealth Bank analyst Dennis Voznesenski.
“The big driver of global wheat markets in the last couple of years has been exports out of the black sea. If the market is getting more confident of a smaller crop in Russia this year, that’s very significant.”
‘No wheat import this year owing to sufficient stock’
In other crops, CBOT corn was up 0.1% at $4.95-1/2 a bushel and up 2.8% for the week, with soybeans down 0.1% at $10.60 bushel having advanced 1.7% from last Friday’s close.
On Wednesday, corn touched $4.98-1/2, its highest since October 2023, and soybeans climbed to $10.79-3/4, its highest since July 2024.
Traders are awaiting the monthly supply-demand report from the US Department of Agriculture next Tuesday that could move prices.
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