Wheat futures continued to march higher on Wednesday, gaining for the fourth straight day, amid deepening worries about the impact of dry weather on US and Russian crops. Corn was lower while soybeans ended mixed.
A note today from World Weather said mostly dry weather in southern Russia will continue through the middle of next week, with temperatures pushing well above normal as well. Many of the driest areas have not seen rain since early February, and “substantial” moisture will be needed soon to prevent production losses, World Weather said. Meanwhile, the condition of the US winter wheat crop is suffering amid flash drought conditions in Kansas and Oklahoma. May Chicago wheat gained 9 ½ cents to $5.94 ½, May Kansas City was up 15 ½ cents at $6.24 ¼, and May Minneapolis added 12 ½ cents to $6.79.
Soybean futures retreated from earlier highs amid a pause in the short covering that helped to drive the market higher earlier this week. May was down 1 ½ cents to $11.66, while new-crop November added a ½ cent to $11.74 ½.
Corn was lower on profit taking following good gains over the past few days. May corn lost 5 ¼ cents to $4.37 ¾, and December eased 2 cents to $4.72 ¾.
