CHICAGO: US wheat futures spiked to a one-month high on Friday as the market was unsettled by spring weather risks in the northern hemisphere and renewed tensions in the Black Sea.
Soybeans gained and corn fell as investors weighed US planting prospects following generally favourable rains in the Midwest farm belt and rising export competition from South America.
Corn and soybean markets closed out the week with weekly declines, while wheat notched a third straight weekly gain.
The wheat market rose on ongoing rumours of delays to Russian export cargoes. Meanwhile, renewed drone attacks on Black Sea grain ports caused fears of shipping delays, and concerns about declining French wheat conditions continued.
Wheat gains were mostly motivated by geopolitics, said Joe Davis, director of commodity sales at Futures International, noting that it was unusual that the stronger dollar on Friday was not deterring buyers.
A firmer greenback makes dollar-denominated commodities costlier for those holding other currencies. The May wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) rose 11 cents to $5.67-1/4 a bushel after the benchmark contract rose to $5.74-3/4, its highest since March 1.
Meanwhile, expectations that the Biden administration would release a more restrictive preliminary climate model than expected for its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) subsidy program added to the bearish corn news. Rains across the Midwest boosted soil moisture but delayed early field work in the central and eastern belt, forecasters said. But drier weather favourable to corn planting is on the horizon.
“Expectation are pretty high than corn is going to get started next week,” said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics. CBOT May soybeans rose 5 cents to $11.85 a bushel, while May corn fell 1 cent to $4.34-1/4 a bushel.
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