Wheat Climbs as Egypt’s Third Tender Indicates Sustained Demand
Wheat rose as Egypt’s third tender for the grain this month indicates sustained demand and after Russian producers said the country’s crop will be smaller than the government predicts.
Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, is seeking grain for Sept. 1-10 shipment in a tender today after buying 300,000 metric tons last week and 180,000 tons on July 2. China, the biggest producer, has also been buying wheat in recent weeks after rain hurt domestic crops.
“Demand remains dynamic,” Pierre-Antoine Allard, a consultant at Paris-based farm adviser Agritel, said by phone. “Egypt continues in buying mode, and we’ve got China that’s been livening up the market in the past two to three weeks.”
Wheat for delivery in September advanced 0.4 percent to $6.5625 a bushel by 8:29 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. The grain slid in the two prior sessions and closed yesterday at the lowest since June 2012. Milling wheat for delivery in November traded on NYSE Liffe in the French capital rose 0.4 percent to 191 euros ($252) a ton.
Russia’s wheat production may be 45 million to 48 million tons as drought hurts crops in the Volga area and the southern Rostov region, the country’s Grain Producers Union said today. That compares with the 53 million tons predicted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service.
“On production, there are also questions,” Allard said. “In Russia, there are apparently problems in the south.”
Corn for delivery in December fell 0.5 percent to $4.8325 a bushel in Chicago. Prices last closed with a gain on July 16 and yesterday touched $4.82, the lowest since October 2010.
Soybeans for delivery in November climbed 0.1 percent to $12.61 a bushel. The oilseed slid the most in more than a week yesterday and today reached $12.5525, the lowest since July 15.
“On oilseeds, we’re seeing a pause,” Allard said. “We had a big decline, so it’s normal to have a technical rebound.”
Palm oil for October delivery fell 1.6 percent to 2,222 ringgit ($696.66) per ton, after declining as much as 1.7 percent to 2,220 ringgit, the lowest since Dec. 13. Soybean oil slipped 0.4 percent to $0.445 a pound to the lowest since October 2010.
