Wheat Has Longest Slump in 11 Months as Export Demand Declines
Category: Grains
(Businessweek) – Wheat fell, capping the longest slump in 11 months, after Egypt, the world’s biggest importer of the grain, shunned U.S. inventories and bought supplies from Russia.
Egypt on Aug. 25 bought 120,000 metric tons of Russian wheat and 60,000 tons of Romanian wheat, the state-run General Authority for Supply Commodities said. Russian production of the grain may fall 27 percent this year after drought cut yields. The U.S. is expected in 2012-2013 to be the biggest exporter of wheat, followed by Australia, Canada and Russia.
“The biggest problem with wheat is the market rallied on exports expected to come our way because of small Russian exports, but they continue to sell to Egypt,” Brian Hoops, the president of Midwest Market Solutions in Springfield, Missouri, said by telephone. “Despite rumors that they’re out of the export market, they’re a competing force with the U.S.”
Wheat futures for December delivery dropped 0.7 percent to settle at $8.755 a bushel at 2 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price fell for the fifth straight session, the longest slide since September.
The grain has gained 34 percent this year amid expectations that livestock producers would use more wheat for feed after corn prices surged. Drought also reduced the Russian crop.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tony C. Dreibus in Chicago at tdreibus@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net
