U.S. wheat futures rose 1.6 percent on Monday as forecasts of mainly dry weather in much of the U.S. Plains buoyed the market after it had dropped for the last three weeks on expectations of rains. Corn and soybeans edged higher on the back of slow farmer sales in the U.S. Midwest.
Chicago Board of Trade December wheat had gained 1.6 percent to $4.98-1/2 a bushel by 0236 GMT, while corn rose 0.5 percent to $3.81-1/2 a bushel. November soybeans added 0.1 percent to $8.96-1/4 a bushel.
“The first half of the weekend offered little rain in U.S. hard red winter wheat regions,” Tobin Gorey, director of agricultural strategy at Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note.
“Weather forecasters expect that dry pattern to continue until the weekend.”
Wheat futures are being underpinned by lack of rains in the U.S. Plains which could threaten the winter crop yields. Dry weather in other key exporter Russia is also supporting prices.
French farmers had harvested 58 percent of this year’s grain maize crop by Oct. 19 and also completed the same share of soft wheat sowing for next year’s harvest, farm office FranceAgriMer said on Friday.
Spot basis bids for soybeans and corn were firm in the U.S. Midwest on Friday as domestic processors worked to replenish supplies, the harvest wound down and farmer grain sales slowed, dealers said.
Large speculators switched to a net short position in CBOT corn futures in the week to Oct. 20, regulatory data released on Friday showed.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly commitments of traders report also showed that noncommercial traders, a category that includes hedge funds, increased their net short position in CBOT wheat and increased their net short position in soybeans.
