By Christopher Walljasper
CHICAGO, Sept 23 (Reuters) – Chicago wheat futures firmed on Thursday, strengthened by global supply concernsand a firming oat futures market on drought-stricken North American supplies.
Corn and soybeans edged higher, supported by wheat and oats.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) Wv1 added 12-3/4 cents to $7.18-1/2 a bushel as of 12:29 p.m. (1729 GMT).
Soybeans Sv1 gained 2-1/4 cents to $12.84-3/4 a bushel and corn Cv1 added 4-1/2 cents to $5.30 a bushel.
Oats, primarily grown in Canada, North Dakota and Montana, suffered from severe drought that has decimated production.
“The crop was about halved,” said Jeff French, owner of Ag Hedgers. “I think it’s going to go higher. Cash oats are leading the way.”
The most-active oat futures Oc1 were 22-1/2 cents higher at $5.80-1/4, the highest on record.
Corn futures firmed despite a quickly progressing harvest across much of the U.S. Midwest.
“Everything’s starting to dry down really fast now,” said Mark Schultz, chief analyst at Northstar Commodity. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I had customers done with corn and beans by the 5th of October.”
As farmers harvest, a previously tight corn and soybean supply is once again in focus, made clear by a firming cash basis across the U.S. Midwest, Schultz said. GRA/M
“I just think we’re tight. I’ve never seen people bid for corn, both at ethanol plants and livestock feed mills, this deep into the year.”
Meanwhile, U.S. export sales firmed as hurricane-damaged Gulf export terminals come online. Soybean export sales last week totaled 912,900 tonnes, near the high end of market forecasts that ranged from 500,000 to 1.1 million tonnes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. EXP/SOY
Export sales of 373,000 tonnes of corn were near the low end of trade expectations for 300,000 to 800,000 tonnes. EXP/CORN
(Reporting by Christopher Walljasper, additional reporting by Naveen Thukral; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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