BLBG: Wheat Gains for Second Day on Concern Dry Weather in Europe Damaged Crops
Wheat rose for a second day in Chicago on speculation dry weather may have hurt crops in France, Germany and the U.K., the largest European producers. Corn and soybeans gained amid planting delays in the U.S.
French wheat sellers aren’t committing supplies as the drought has made production uncertain, Bourges, France-based farm adviser Offre et Demande Agricole said on its website. The U.K. has lost as much as 20 percent of its crops to dry weather, Allan Wilkinson, head of agriculture for HSBC Bank Plc, said this week.
“Concern about the dry weather in Europe has come back to the forefront and is supporting the prices,” Offre et Demande Agricole said in a daily note today. “The current heat is very detrimental to yields.”
Wheat for July delivery advanced 16.75 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $8.1325 a bushel by 1:15 p.m. London time on the Chicago Board of Trade. The grain jumped 76 percent in the past year. Milling wheat for November delivery traded on NYSE Liffe in Paris rose 5.50 euros, or 2.2 percent, to 250.25 euros ($354.63) a metric ton.
Corn and soybeans gained for a second day on speculation rain this week in the U.S. Midwest and northern Great Plains may extend seeding delays in the country, the biggest exporter of both crops, threatening to curb yields.
U.S. Storms
Storms from Iowa to Ohio may bring as much as 1.5 inches of rain by May 26, AccuWeather Inc. forecast. North Dakota, the biggest U.S. grower of wheat, may get an inch by May 29, according to QT Weather Inc. Corn, soybean and spring-wheat planting is behind the normal pace because of excess rain, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show.
Corn for July delivery increased 5.5 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $7.4775 a bushel in Chicago. The grain last month reached $7.8875, the highest price since June 2008, and more than doubled in the past year.
July-delivery soybeans gained 9 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $13.86 a bushel. The oilseed climbed 48 percent in the past year, helped by demand from China, the world’s biggest soybean importer.
To contact the reporters on this story: Tony C. Dreibus in London at tdreibus@bloomberg.net; Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter@bloomberg.net.
