(Nasdaq) – U.S. grain and soybean futures mostly advanced Thursday as the U.S. dollar eased and investors shed some bearish bets in agricultural markets.
Wheat prices led the gains, jumping amid forecasts for dry weather in the U.S. Plains, where much of the nation’s wheat is grown. Warm temperatures in states like Kansas and Nebraska already have encouraged wheat crops to emerge from their winter dormant phase, leaving them at risk in the event of a cold snap. Now dry weather could add to wheat’s potential troubles, analysts said, since many growing regions received little rain or snow during the winter, and are in need of moisture.
“For folks to be this short at this point in the year may be an outsized bet that people are rethinking,” said Dave Marshall, farm-marketing adviser at TCFG LLC in Nashville, Ill.
Wheat futures for May, the most-actively traded contract, rose 9 1/2 cents, or 2.1%, to $4.59 3/4 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade. March wheat futures, the front-month contract, reached $4.53 1/4 a bushel, the highest closing price since Feb. 22.
A softer U.S. dollar also boosted prices for the grain, with the greenback dipping 0.5% Thursday, according to the WSJ Dollar Index.
Soybean prices rose, bolstered by strength in the wheat market and stronger South American currencies, which make crops from rival exporters like Brazil more expensive for world buyers. Weather forecasts for rain in parts of Brazil also shored up the soybean market, as moisture over the next few weeks could disrupt harvest in that country, slowing shipments and increasing U.S. export business instead.
CBOT May soybeans, the most actively traded contract, gained 2 1/4 cents, or 0.3%, to $8.63 3/4 a bushel.
The most actively traded May corn futures advanced, pulled up in part by wheat’s gains. Crop sales made by U.S. farmers, however, buffeted prices for nearby corn contracts.
CBOT May corn added 1/4 cent, or 0.1%, to $3.56 3/4 a bushel. March corn shed 3/4 cent, or 0.2%, to $3.53 3/4 a bushel.
