Wheat Retreats After Biggest Gain Since April on Supply Outlook

February 5th, 2014

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Category: Grains, Oilseeds

(Bloomberg) – Wheat declined after surging the most in 10 months yesterday as investors weighed record global supplies against concerns that freezing weather in the U.S. probably damaged crops in the world’s biggest exporter.

The contract for March delivery fell as much as 0.5 percent to $5.8175 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade and was at $5.8275 by 11:01 a.m. in Singapore. Wheat climbed 3.7 percent at the close yesterday, the biggest gain since April 3, and touched $5.86, the highest since Jan. 10.

In Kansas, the top U.S. producer of winter varieties, about 35 percent of the crop was in good or excellent condition, down from 58 percent on Dec. 30, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Feb. 3. Global production will reach a record 712.66 million metric tons in 2013-2014 on bigger harvests in Australia, Canada and Russia, USDA data show.

“There’s a lot of talk of winter kill in the U.S.,” said Michael Pitts, a commodity sales director at National Australia Bank Ltd. “There’s still a lot of physical wheat around globally at this stage.”

Soybeans for March delivery gained as much as 0.5 percent to $13.20 a bushel, the highest since Jan. 16, and were at $13.18. Corn for delivery in March was unchanged at $4.4175 a bushel.

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