(Bloomberg) – Wheat rose to the highest in almost five weeks on speculation that U.S. farmers will plant fewer acres with spring varieties than forecast due to cold, wet weather. Corn gained while soybeans fell.
A flood warning is in effect in some regions of North Dakota, the largest producer of spring wheat in the U.S., according to National Weather Service. Wheat acreage may climb to the highest in four years, according to a survey of 32 analysts by Bloomberg News. Farmers will plant the most soybean acres ever, and corn seeding may rise to the highest since 1936, according to the survey.
Seeding “could come in below expectations due to the unfavorable weather that we’ve been seeing in the northern spring-wheat states,” Terry Reilly, a senior commodity analyst at Chicago-based Futures International LLC, said in a telephone interview. “The outlook calls for a wet and cold bias for the northern spring-wheat states and some producers may take that into account and switch over to other crops, such as hay.”
Wheat futures for May delivery added 1.2 percent to $7.40 a bushel at 10:53 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest since Feb. 21.
Corn futures for May delivery advanced 0.5 percent to $7.3375 a bushel in Chicago. Soybean futures for May delivery slid less than 0.1 percent to $14.475 a bushel on the CBOT.
