Investing.com - U.S. grain futures were higher during European morning trade on Thursday, with wheat prices rallying to a two-week high on the back of concerns over adverse weather conditions, while soy prices and corn were mixed.
Agricultural commodities shrugged off broader market risk aversion stemming from fears over a potential Greek exit from the euro zone. Instead, grain traders focused on market fundamentals.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat for July delivery traded at USD6.4138 a bushel, gaining 0.35%. It earlier rose by as much as 1.2% to trade at USD6.4675 a bushel, the highest since May 1.
Prices are up nearly 8% since touching a four-month low of USD5.9237 on May 14, boosted by concerns over dry weather in overseas wheat-producing regions and a less-optimistic government assessment of the U.S. winter-wheat crop.
Wheat futures jumped by the most in six weeks on Wednesday, surging a two-week high as investors that had been betting on falling prices had to re-enter the market to cover short positions.
Agricultural meteorologists continued to point to dry weather conditions in the U.S. Southern-Plains region, a key winter-wheat growing area.
Traders also cited weather concerns in Russia, where drought-like conditions could potentially cause irreversible damage to some crops in the southern part of the country, raising worries over similar crop damage in 2010.
Russia, once the world's third largest grain exporting nation, introduced an 11-month ban on grain exports in August 2010 after the worst drought in at least half a century wiped out a third of its grain crops.
Meanwhile, soybeans futures for July delivery traded at USD14.2938 a bushel during European morning trade, adding 0.5%. It earlier rose by as much as 1.5% to trade at USD14.3513 a bushel, the highest since May 11.
Prices have been on the rise since touching a seven-week low of USD13.7612 a bushel on May 14.
Soybean prices rallied nearly 19% since the beginning of February, and rose almost 6.5% in April, as market sentiment has been dominated by concerns over distressed crops in major South American soy growers and amid indications demand for U.S. soy from top consumer China remains strong.
But prices came under heavy selling pressure in the first week of May as hedge finds and large institutional investors liquidating long positions to lock in gains from an impressive rally that took prices to a four-year high of USD15.1237 a bushel on May 2.
Elsewhere on the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures for July delivery traded at USD6.1913 a bushel, dipping 0.15%. It earlier fell by as much as 0.5% to trade at a session low of USD6.1713 a bushel.
Prices rose to USD6.2125 on Wednesday, the highest since May 9. Corn futures have been well-supported since dropping to USD5.7175 a bushel on May 11, the lowest since October 2, 2011, amid speculation lower prices would encourage China to boost purchases of U.S. corn.
Demand for corn has been strong after a recent dip in prices. China’s state-owned grain-stockpiling agency, Sinograin, said last month that it was ready boost purchases to replenish depleted reserves if the prices are attractive.
The U.S. produced 38% of the world's corn last year, making it the both world's largest corn producing nation and the largest exporter of the grain, while China is the world’s largest consumer of the grain.
Agricultural commodities shrugged off broader market risk aversion stemming from fears over a potential Greek exit from the euro zone. Instead, grain traders focused on market fundamentals.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat for July delivery traded at USD6.4138 a bushel, gaining 0.35%. It earlier rose by as much as 1.2% to trade at USD6.4675 a bushel, the highest since May 1.
Prices are up nearly 8% since touching a four-month low of USD5.9237 on May 14, boosted by concerns over dry weather in overseas wheat-producing regions and a less-optimistic government assessment of the U.S. winter-wheat crop.
Wheat futures jumped by the most in six weeks on Wednesday, surging a two-week high as investors that had been betting on falling prices had to re-enter the market to cover short positions.
Agricultural meteorologists continued to point to dry weather conditions in the U.S. Southern-Plains region, a key winter-wheat growing area.
Traders also cited weather concerns in Russia, where drought-like conditions could potentially cause irreversible damage to some crops in the southern part of the country, raising worries over similar crop damage in 2010.
Russia, once the world's third largest grain exporting nation, introduced an 11-month ban on grain exports in August 2010 after the worst drought in at least half a century wiped out a third of its grain crops.
Meanwhile, soybeans futures for July delivery traded at USD14.2938 a bushel during European morning trade, adding 0.5%. It earlier rose by as much as 1.5% to trade at USD14.3513 a bushel, the highest since May 11.
Prices have been on the rise since touching a seven-week low of USD13.7612 a bushel on May 14.
Soybean prices rallied nearly 19% since the beginning of February, and rose almost 6.5% in April, as market sentiment has been dominated by concerns over distressed crops in major South American soy growers and amid indications demand for U.S. soy from top consumer China remains strong.
But prices came under heavy selling pressure in the first week of May as hedge finds and large institutional investors liquidating long positions to lock in gains from an impressive rally that took prices to a four-year high of USD15.1237 a bushel on May 2.
Elsewhere on the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures for July delivery traded at USD6.1913 a bushel, dipping 0.15%. It earlier fell by as much as 0.5% to trade at a session low of USD6.1713 a bushel.
Prices rose to USD6.2125 on Wednesday, the highest since May 9. Corn futures have been well-supported since dropping to USD5.7175 a bushel on May 11, the lowest since October 2, 2011, amid speculation lower prices would encourage China to boost purchases of U.S. corn.
Demand for corn has been strong after a recent dip in prices. China’s state-owned grain-stockpiling agency, Sinograin, said last month that it was ready boost purchases to replenish depleted reserves if the prices are attractive.
The U.S. produced 38% of the world's corn last year, making it the both world's largest corn producing nation and the largest exporter of the grain, while China is the world’s largest consumer of the grain.