CHICAGO: US grain and soybean futures were expected to open higher on Thursday, extending a rally spurred by scorching heat and dry conditions that have put stress on crops across key growing areas of the US Midwest for the past month, traders said.
Chicago Board of Trade corn futures, which just notched their biggest eight-day advance in 3-1/2 years, were seen rising another 5 cents to 7 cents per bushel on Thursday morning.
Soybean prices, which traded at their highest levels since 2008, were called 10 cents to 12 cents per bushel higher, and wheat was called up 3 cents to 5 cents per bushel.
A firm dollar, which dampens investor appetite for risky assets such as agricultural commodities, was seen capping the early gains.
US grain markets were closed on Wednesday for the US Independence Day holiday. Markets were set to reopen at 9:30 a.m. CDT (1430 GMT) on Thursday.
A trader said that pre-market activity was slow on Thursday morning, with few bids and offers being made before the bell.
Temperatures were expected to remain near 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) around much of the US Corn Belt on Thursday and Friday before moderating to the high 80s and mid 90s by the weekend, said Joel Widenor, a meteorologist with Commodity Weather Group.
But there was little rain in the forecast to mitigate the damage caused by the heat wave.
"The fact that we still don't have any real significant upturn in rainfall you will still be trimming down yields," Widenor said.
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