CHICAGO: US wheat futures stumbled on Friday as traders booked profits after prices rallied this week on worries about harsh weather, while investors became more optimistic about a possible end to the Middle East war.
Tumbling oil prices weighed on grain markets early in the session, though agricultural futures pared losses before trading ended. Nearby corn and soy futures finished slightly higher on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Concerns about drought threatening farms in the US Plains prevented wheat prices from falling too hard, traders said. They also monitored the risk for frost in parts of the region, where farmers grow hard red winter wheat used to make bread.
“The strength in wheat this week continues to stem from the first weather market of the crop season,” Nick Paumen, commodity broker for CHS Hedging, said in a note.
K.C. July wheat, which represents the hard red winter wheat crop, ended 5 cents lower at USD6.50 per bushel after setting a one-year high on Thursday.
CBOT July soft red winter wheat finished down 7-1/4 cents at USD5.99-1/4 per bushel. For the week, the contract jumped 3.2percent. CBOT May corn ended up 1/4 cent at USD4.48-3/4 per bushel, while May soybeans closed 3-1/2 cents higher at USD11.67-1/4 per bushel. The drought was beginning to do real damage to the US wheat crop, said Tobin Gorey, founder of Australian consultancy Cornucopia. “It’s losing yield,” he said.
Commodity Weather Group said frost on Saturday morning could add to losses in the western Plains, while rain in late April was expected to slowly ease crop stress.
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