Grain futures mixed; Wheat trades near 3-month peak
Investing.com
Published Oct 07, 2013 06:00AM ET
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat for December delivery traded at USD6.8913 a bushel, up 0.2%. Wheat futures rose to a daily high of USD6.9038 a bushel earlier in the session.
The December contract settled down 0.35% at USD6.8700 a bushel on Friday, as investors locked in gains from a rally that took prices to a three-month high.
Wheat prices rallied to USD6.9787 a bushel on October 3, the strongest level since June 24.
Elsewhere on the CBOT, soybeans futures for November delivery traded at USD12.9425 a bushel, down 0.1%.
Prices of the oilseed rose to a daily high of USD13.0475 a bushel earlier in the session, the strongest since September 30. The November soy contract ended 0.5% higher at USD12.9500 a bushel on Friday.
Prices of the oilseed were supported as forecasts for rainfall across the U.S. Midwest in the coming days may delay the pace of the harvest.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, approximately 11% of the U.S. soy harvest was completed as of last week, improving from 3% harvested in the preceding week.
The USDA also said that 53% of the soy crop was in ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ condition as of last week, up from 50% a week earlier.
On Friday, influential industry group Informa Economics cut its forecast for U.S. soybean production to 3.176 billion bushels, 1.5% lower from a previous estimate.
Meanwhile, corn futures for December delivery traded at USD4.4338 a bushel, little changed. Prices held in a tight range between USD4.4163 a bushel, the daily low and a session high of USD4.4438 a bushel.
The December corn contract settled up 0.9% on Friday to end at USD4.4320 a bushel.
Prices of the grain fell to a three-year low of USD4.3512 a bushel on October 2. Futures have been on a downward trend in recent weeks as investors monitored improving crop prospects in the U.S. Midwest.
According to the USDA, the U.S. corn crop will total 13.84 billion bushels this season, 28% larger than last year’s harvest and the largest crop on record.
The USDA’s weekly crop progress report scheduled for Monday will likely be postponed due to the U.S. government shutdown.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, followed by soybeans, government figures show. Wheat was fourth, behind hay.
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Written By: Investing.com
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