CHICAGO- Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures bounced on technical buying on Friday after nearing a six-month low struck a day earlier, though the market remained capped by sluggish US exports and increased Black Sea shipments, analysts said.
Corn futures also strengthened, while soybeans edged lower as forecasts for rain in the US Midwest tempered concerns about unfavorable dryness, traders said. Next week, traders will monitor reports from an annual tour in which scouts take crop measurements in hundreds of corn and soybean fields across key US farm states.
Much of the Corn Belt is dry, but showers are spreading across the upper Midwest, the US Department of Agriculture said in a daily weather report. Any rain is beneficial for immature crops, including soybeans or late-planted corn, the report said.
“Corn prices firmed on crop concerns, while soybeans pulled back on spread trading, with traders thinking that the oilseed may be handling this month’s weather better than corn,” said ArlanSuderman, chief commodities economist for StoneX.
The most-active CBOT wheat contract settled up 22 cents, or 2.9 percent, at $7.71 a bushel. Corn ended 7-1/2 cents, or 1.2 percent, higher at $6.23-1/4 a bushel. Soybeans eased 1-1/4 cents, or 0.09 percent, to close at $14.04 a bushel.