Wheat rises as dry weather hits US crops

CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures climbed for a third straight session on Wednesday, taking their gains for the week so far to nearly 4%, as dry conditions in the US Plains threaten to damage crops and reduce production.

Corn and soybean futures rose, helped by a weakening US dollar as global markets looked ahead to talks between the United States and Iran to resolve the war.

Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures for July delivery were up 0.4% at $6.03-1/2 a bushel by 0218 GMT.

CBOT corn added 0.6% to $4.45-1/2 a bushel and soybeans climbed 0.4% to $11.62 a bushel.

The dollar sat near Tuesday’s six-week low against a basket of currencies, making US crops more affordable for buyers with other currencies.

Stock markets rose and oil dipped. Lower-than-expected rains over the weekend and a dry outlook for April have stoked concerns over the health of US wheat crops.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said this week 34% of the nation’s winter wheat was in good or excellent condition, as of Sunday, down from 35% a week earlier and 47% a year ago.

Problems in the United States could help push prices towards a technical resistance around $6.20-$6.25 a bushel in the coming weeks, said Rabobank analyst Vitor Pistoia.

But ample global stockpiles mean prices are unlikely to rally further until later in the year, when it becomes clearer how much global production has been lost to adverse weather and high fuel and fertiliser prices, he said.

“In the second half of the year we should break that resistance,” he said. Top wheat exporter Russia said on Tuesday 97% of its winter crops were currently in good and satisfactory condition.

The government also added 5 million metric tons to the country’s grain export quota, according to the Russian Grain Union lobby group. Soybeans are also plentiful, with the crop agency of Brazil, the biggest exporter, raising its estimate for the country’s 2025/26 output to a record 179.15 million tons from 177.85 million tons.