By Tony C. Dreibus April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat advanced on signs that speculators may be unwinding bets on falling prices after the most-active futures fell to a five-month low this week. Some hedge-fund managers may be buying futures to end speculation on further price declines, or short covering, said Tom Leffler, the owner of Leffler Commodities LLC. Other investors may be trying to make “a few pennies” after wheat fell to the lowest level since October on March 30, he said. “We’ve got some short covering in the market and we’ve got some bottom pickers,” Leffler said from Augusta, Kansas. “It’s tempting for some people to step in and buy, hoping it rises a penny. If you drop something hard enough, it’s going to bounce a little.” Wheat futures for July delivery rose 1.25 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $4.6525 a bushel at 10:14 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price fell 14 percent in the first quarter, the seventh decline since March 2008. Futures for May delivery, the most-active contract until today, rose 0.75 cent, or 0.2 percent, to $4.5125. On March 30, May wheat futures touched $4.6225, the lowest price for a most- active contract since Oct. 9. Wheat is the fourth-biggest U.S. crop, valued at $10.6 billion in 2009, behind corn, soybeans and hay, government data show. To contact the reporter on this story: Tony C. Dreibus in Chicago at Tdreibus@bloomberg.net.

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