SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures bounced back on Monday, rising more than 1% as expectations of lower exports from top supplier Russia boosted hopes of higher demand for U.S. cargoes.
Corn and soybeans also rose, but gains were limited by concerns over trade conflicts disrupting trade flows.
“The wheat market has a bullish outlook, Russian wheat exports likely to slow down in the coming months,” said one trader at an international trading company in Singapore. “Wheat supplies are getting tighter.”
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 1.2% to $5.63-1/2 a bushel as of 0328 GMT, having closed lower on Friday. Corn added 0.8% to $4.62-1/4 a bushel and soybeans gained 0.3% to $10.19 a bushel.
Russia’s IKAR consultancy last week cut its baseline 2024/25 wheat export forecast to around 41 million tons from 42.5 million tons.
Low U.S. wheat prices and an ongoing export quota in major wheat producer Russia have boosted buying interest in U.S. wheat.
EU wheat on track for first weekly gain
Grain markets faced pressure last week following the implementation of revised U.S. tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, which prompted the European Union and Canada to announce retaliatory duties on several U.S. goods.
China is likely to face a supply shortage of rapeseed meal by the third quarter of this year as Beijing’s tariffs on shipments from top exporter Canada disrupt trade and as alternative sources are unlikely to make up the deficit.
Large speculators cut their net long position in CBOT corn futures in the week to March 11, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that non-commercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and trimmed their net short position in soybeans.
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