MUMBAI- Chicago grains futures extended gains on Wednesday, as a tour of key growing areas in the Midwest raised concerns that the size of the US corn and soybeans crop will fall below expectations.
The Chicago Board of Trade’s (CBOT) most-active corn contract was up 1.37 percent at $6.64-1/4 a bushel, after rising to its highest level since June 28 earlier.
Wheat Wv1 jumped 1.75 percent to $8.14-1/2 a bushel and soybeans rose 0.89 percent to $14.74 a bushel.
Indiana corn yield prospects are lower than last year and below the three-year average, scouts on an annual tour of top US production states found on Tuesday.
South Dakota corn yields were projected at 118.45 bushels per acre, the worst on the tour since 2012.
Ohio corn yield prospects and soybean pod counts are lower than last year.
Nebraska corn yield prospects and soybean pod counts are lower than last year and below their three-year averages.
“The way numbers are getting revised lower, it’s pretty clear that actual output number would be much lower than initial optimism,” said a New-Delhi based trader with a global trading house.
Bumper US crops are needed to offset low global grain supplies, but extreme heat and widespread drought in parts of the US Midwest have hampered fields and a string of troubled crop harvests worldwide are pointing to multiple years of tight supplies and high food costs. – Reuters
