Toltek/iStock via Getty Images
US wheat, soybean and corn prices rose Thursday on the Chicago Board of Trade, with dry weather expected to continue in key areas of the Midwest crop belt. raised concerns about yield prospects.
Latest weekly data from The USDA estimated that 57% of the domestic corn crop and 51% of soybeans are coping with drought conditions, up 12% from last week for both, with the problem spreading to the Midwest and Plains.
A three-month seasonal drought forecast by the US Climate Prediction Center predicts that drought conditions will persist or develop from eastern Iowa through most of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio through September.
CBOT Wheat (W_1:COM) finished for July delivery +5% To $6.61 1/2 a bushel, soybeans settled for July (S_1:COM) +2.9% to $14.28 1/4 a bushel July Corn closed (C_1:COM) +2.6% to $6.23 1/4 a bushel.
ETFs: (New York: Witt), (New York: SOYB), (New York: Corn), (dB), (MOO)
The weak export sales report from the USDA also weighed on grain futures. The USDA said that 165,000 metric tons of wheat were sold for the week ending June 8, Much lower than analysts’ expectationsWhile corn and soybean sales fell within expectations at 294.4 thousand tons and 526.9 thousand tons, respectively.
Corn and wheat prices are also rising in the European Union, which has also been affected by higher-than-usual temperatures, as well as the uncertain prospects of a grain passage in the Black Sea that would allow shipments from Ukraine.
Further analysis on wheat: