CANBERRA- Chicago wheat futures rose on Wednesday to their highest levels since last July as adverse weather led to further downgrades of harvest estimates in Russia, the biggest exporter, fueling a rally that has pushed prices up 18 percent so far this month.
Also helping wheat were concerns of crop damage spreading to Ukraine, another major global supplier, and a decline in crop condition ratings in the United States.
Corn and soybean futures also rose.
Weather events are causing increasing price volatility as northern hemisphere harvests that deliver most of the world’s wheat near, said Andrew Whitelaw at consultants Episode 3 in Canberra.
Rainfall was also needed in parts of Australia to guarantee a good crop, Whitelaw said, adding that prices could rise further in the coming days, albeit with some volatility.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 1.8 percent at $7.09-3/4 a bushel, after rising as high as $7.11-1/4.
