US wheat range-bound on weather uncertainties

BEIJING: Chicago wheat futures were range-bound on Friday on weather uncertainties, as dry and unseasonably warm weather threatens yield prospects for the US winter crop, while corn and soybeans were also stuck in a tight range.

Crop and weather experts said that dry and unseasonably warm weather is threatening yield prospects for winter wheat in the US Plains bread basket, amid tightening global supplies of milling wheat.

"HRW (hard red winter wheat) regions of the United States are experiencing extreme winds. Quite what that will do to immature crops in the region, many of which were already in poor or worse condition, is unknown for now," said Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, in a note.

"The winds are precisely the kind of event that poorly established crops are vulnerable to until snow cover arrives."

The Chicago Board of Trade's (CBOT) most-active wheat contract edged up 0.06% to $7.71 a bushel by 0340 GMT. Wheat however is down 1.8% for the week, in line for a third consecutive weekly fall.

Soybeans were slightly up 0.04% at $12.77-3/4 per bushel but have gained 0.8% so far in the week. Corn is up 0.2% so far this week and was last at $5.91-1/4 a bushel on Friday.

Argentina's Buenos Aires grains exchange said on Thursday it could raise its estimate for the 2021/22 wheat harvest, already at a record 21 million tonnes, thanks to high yields as harvesting of the crop progresses.

Strategie Grains has raised its estimate for EU soft wheat exports outside the bloc for the current 2021/22 season by more than 1 million tonnes as a fall in prices has made French wheat more competitive on world markets.

Iranian state agency the Government Trading Corporation (GTC) is believed to have purchased around 500,000 tonnes of milling wheat in a tender that closed on Wednesday, European traders said on Thursday.

Commodity funds were net buyers of Chicago Board of Trade soybean, wheat, soyoil and corn futures contracts on Thursday and net even in soymeal futures, traders said.