Wheat Futures Soar On Demand Picture Dow Jones August 22, 2007: 05:21 PM EST
NEW YORK - Wheat futures soared to fresh 11-year and all-time highs Wednesday on bullishness about demand and technical strength.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, September wheat ended 27 cents stronger at $ 7.18 1/2 a bushel, after setting a fresh 11-year high for a front-month contract of $7.20 a bushel. That exceeded the previous day session high of $6.97 a bushel. The contract also traded above a price level many wheat industry members consider to be the unofficial all-time high for a front-month CBOT wheat contract.
CBOT December wheat settled 27 3/4 cents higher at $7.31 3/4 a bushel after setting a fresh all-time high for a second-month contract of $7.34 a bushel. That topped the previous day session high of $7.14 1/2 a bushel. The contract briefly traded limit up, or 30 cents higher, before trimming gains a bit.
Despite high prices, the U.S. has attracted strong export demand this summer amid production problems in Europe and the Black Sea region. The buying trend looks as though it will continue in the near term as traders wait to see how much wheat the Southern Hemisphere will produce, an analyst said.
Australia, a major world exporter, is off the global market until it can harvest its wheat after a drought devastated last year's crop, traders said. There are concerns dryness in parts of Australia and Argentina will affect output.
Kansas City Board of Trade September wheat finished 12 cents higher at $6.67 a bushel, and Minneapolis Grain Exchange September wheat closed 13 1/2 cents stronger at $6.62 a bushel.
In other grains trading, soybean futures rallied on technical buying and crop concerns. Corn futures were boosted by spillover support from other grains and technically inspired buying, analysts said.
September soybeans settled 15 1/2 cents higher at $8.31 1/4 a bushel on the CBOT, and November soybeans finished 16 cents higher at $8.47 a bushel. September soymeal settled $6.80 higher at $229.20 per short ton, and December soymeal settled $7.50 stronger at $236.60 a short ton. September soyoil ended 0.28 cent higher at 35.20 cents a pound, and December soyoil finished 0.24 cent higher at 35.82 cents a pound.
September corn ended 9 cents higher at $3.47 1/2 a bushel, and December corn finished 9 1/4 cents stronger at $3.64 1/4 a bushel.
