Wheat maintains bullish ride on robust demand

WHEAT FUTURES EDGED HIGHER TO CLOSE THE WEEK on a positive light, with the market poised for its best performance since April, supported by strong demand and tightening supplies in the global market.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade (CBOT) gained 0.7 per cent at $7.78 a bushel, hiaving closed up 1.7 per cent the previous day when prices hit a 2013 high of $7.80 a bushel.

Production level for Argentina’s 2021/22 wheat crop is expected to rise to 19.8 million tonnes compared to the previous 19.2 million tonne estimate, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange said in a report, citing recent rains as its reason for the recent projected increase. Russia’s agriculture ministry said the world’s largest wheat exporter will record a harvest below the official estimate after months of being more positive about the crop than main analysts have been.

Reacting to the squeezed wheat supply from Russia, Ole Houe, director of advisory services at IKON Commodities in Sydney,Australia, said the slow Russian export pace is leaving a hole in global balance sheet.

For other grains, corn prices are poised to end the month on an upward trend having added more than 5 per cent in October, while soybeans slipped for the sixth consecutive month, losing around 0.5 paper cent, dealers said.

GOLD PLUNGED TO ITS LOWEST FIGURE IN OVER A WEEK at the close of the week’s trading, pressured by a resilient dollar and strong U.S Treasury yield as investors await guidance on tapering of economic support from the forthcoming Federal Reserve meeting.

Spot gold shed 0.8 per cent at $1,785.20 per ounce, while US gold futures lost 0.9 per cent to $1,786.70 per ounce. Meanwhile the dollar index rose 0.3 per cent, making bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Commenting on gold’s recent slide, Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago said there isn’t anything