Mumbai, 17 May (Commoditiescontrol): Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures rose on Friday, continuing their upward trend from earlier in the week when prices hit a near 10-month high. Concerns over Russian output supported prices, though expectations of a strong U.S. crop tempered the gains. The most-active wheat contract on the CBOT increased by 0.2% to $6.64-1/4 a bushel, after reaching $6.97 a bushel on Wednesday, the highest since late July.
Wheat prices have rallied in recent weeks due to adverse weather conditions in Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter. The Russian agriculture ministry reported that frost had damaged about 1% of the total crop.
In contrast, an annual tour of Kansas wheat fields indicated better-than-average yields in the top U.S. winter wheat state, thanks to improved moisture levels after several years of drought. Scouts on the tour estimated Kansas wheat's yield potential at 46.5 bushels per acre, based on inspections of 449 fields over three days. This figure is the highest since 2021 and surpasses the five-year tour average of 42.4 bushels per acre from 2018 to 2023.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported export sales of new-crop U.S. wheat at 304,300 metric tons and old-crop U.S. corn at 742,200 metric tons last week, both figures near the lower end of trade expectations.
Additionally, commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT wheat futures contracts on Thursday, according to traders.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau: 09820130172)