By Mark Weinraub
CHICAGO, Oct 28 (Reuters) – U.S. wheat futures rallied on Thursday to multi-year highs, with gains fueled by concerns about tight global supplies and strong export demand.
Winter wheat futures were supported by concerns about the crop conditions and rainy weather in the eastern U.S. Midwest that may have prevented farmers from seeding as much acreage as planned.
The most-active Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract Wv1 hit its highest since February 2013 while K.C. hard red winter wheat KWc1 peaked it its highest since May 2014.
“Granted that it is early in the year but there is a lot of wheat that is not very good,” said Mark Schultz, chief analyst at Northstar Commodity.
MGEX spring wheat threatened the 10-1/2-year high it hit on Tuesday on expectations that overseas buyers will begin looking to the United States to fill their orders.
Gains in wheat supported corn futures, which notched their third straight day of gains. The most-active contract Cv1 peaked at its highest since Aug. 17.
Soybeans were lower, pressured by weakness in crude oil futures and disappointing export sales. [O/R]
CBOT December soft red winter wheat WZ1 settled up 12-3/4 cents at $7.72-1/2 a bushel.
CBOT January soybeans SF2 were 3-3/4 cents lower at $12.46 a bushel and CBOT December corn CZ1 was up 5-1/2 cents at $5.62-3/4 a bushel.
Additional strength in corn was noted from harvest delays, with storms again knocking U.S. farmers from the fields.
“It is plenty wet … with rains of 1 to 2 inches falling over much of the harvest area, and farmers won’t be able to get back in the fields now until Sunday at the earliest,” Charlie Sernatinger, global head of grain futures at ED&F Man Capital said in a note.
Delays in Europe and parts of China also have created short-term supply concerns despite expectations for large crops.
(Reporting by Mark Weinraub in Chicago Additional reporting by Gus Trompiz in Paris and Colin Packham in Canberra; Editing by Anil D’Silva, Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio)
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