Wheat prices hit 2007 record highs Posted 2d 8h ago | Comments 7 | Recommend 6 E-mail | Save | Print |
By Lauren Villagran, Associated Press NEW YORK — Wheat prices surged to a record high for 2007 Monday as heavy rains threatened to damage an already diminished crop. While rain soaked Midwestern wheat fields on Monday, dry skies stifled the moisture-hungry eastern Corn Belt, sending corn prices above $4 a bushel.
"The rain falling in the U.S. is falling in all the wrong places," said DTN market analyst Elaine Kub.
Bullish traders also ran with a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday in which the agency lowered its projections for winter wheat production this month.
Wheat for July delivery jumped 29.5 cents to $5.57 a bushel at midday on the Chicago Board of Trade. The exchange limits daily price swings to 30 cents in either direction.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: July | New York Mercantile Exchange | Nymex July corn climbed 15 cents to $3.97 a bushel, while December corn, which has the largest open interest, traded above $4 a bushel. Open interest refers to the number of futures contracts that haven't yet been exercised, expired or fulfilled by delivery.
Tailing the others, soybeans for July delivery gained 10.5 cents to $8.32 a bushel.
Elsewhere, the commodity markets began a recovery from Friday's sharp losses in industrial and precious metals and a more than $2 drop in crude oil prices. Gold, oil and copper edged higher, while other agriculture futures logged sharp gains on the back of the wheat rally.
In energy, crude oil prices bounced back from Friday's drop as light, sweet crude picked up 82 cents to $65.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline futures ticked higher, as well.
Overseas, falling inventories of copper, lead, zinc and tin helped push industrial metals prices higher on the London Metal Exchange.
Nymex copper also rose, adding 9.2 cents to $3.3495 a pound at midday.
Meanwhile, precious metals prices recovered from Friday's tumble. August gold added $7.30 to $657.60 an ounce on the Nymex, despite strength in the U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields.
UBS metals analyst Robin Bhar attributed the gains to support from a stronger industrial metals market and the return of traders holding long positions, or bets that prices will rise, following Friday's liquidation.
Nymex silver for July rose 23.5 cents to $13.275 an ounce, while July platinum added $12.20 to $1,299 an ounce.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
