CANBERRA- Chicago wheat futures took a breather on Monday as traders locked in profits after prices climbed to nine-month highs last week due to concerns that bad weather conditions were damaging crops in top exporter Russia.
Soybean and corn futures also edged lower despite worries about supply from South America.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was down 1 percent at $6.56-3/4 a bushel, while CBOT soybeans fell 0.3 percent to $12.15-3/4 a bushel and corn slipped 0.6 percent to $4.67 a bushel.
Wheat rose to $6.65 on Friday, its highest level since last August. Record shipments from Russia pushed prices to $5.24 in March, the lowest since 2020, but dry and then cold weather damaged Russian crops, pushing up prices and forcing speculators to slash bearish bets.
“If dry conditions in Russia push on all through May, that’ll be the news needed to push prices higher,” said Rod Baker at Australian Crop Forecasters. “But if we get some good rain, prices could come back just as quickly.”
