US wheat futures surged nearly 4% on Monday and hit a one-month high, buoyed by strong buying by domestic flour millers as consumers stockpile bread, and signs of a pick-up in global export demand, traders said.
Soyabeans rose on expectations of rising demand for soyameal, a feed ingredient. Corn followed the firm trend but rallies were capped by poor margins for producers of corn-based ethanol fuel.
As of 1:12 p.m. CDT (1812 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade May wheat was up 22-1/4 cents at $5.61-1/2 after reaching $5.63, its highest since Feb. 21. CBOT May soyabeans were up 20-1/2 cents at $8.83 a bushel and May corn was steady at $3.43-3/4 a bushel.
Wheat led the way up, reflecting milling demand as the spread of the coronavirus has led to US consumer stockpiling of staples like bread and pasta. Fresh export demand lent support. Chinese importers last week signed deals to buy 340,000 tonnes of US hard red winter wheat, their first purchase of the grain since late 2017.
And Russian wheat export prices stabilised last week after seven weeks of decline. The plunge in crude oil futures this month has depressed margins for the ethanol sector, which is projected to use nearly 40% of the 2019 US corn crop. That factor has hung over the CBOT corn market, dragging futures to contract lows last week, although values stabilized on Monday.
The strength in soyameal continued to lift CBOT soyabean futures on Monday, with CBOT May soyabeans reaching $8.85-1/4 a bushel, its highest since March 6. The spread of the coronavirus in South America has also stoked worries about shipments of soyameal. Argentina is the world's top soyameal supplier.
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