AG MOBILE
FREE E-MAIL NEWSLETTER
Log In
Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures for December delivery settled up 22 1/4 cents, or 2.5%, at $9.24 1/4 a bushel. September futures, which expired Friday, settled up 18 1/2 cents, or 2.1%, at $8.97 1/2 a bushel.
Kansas City Board of Trade December wheat rose 25 1/4 cents, or 2.7%, to $9.48 a bushel. MGEX December wheat rose 15 1/2 cents, or 1.6%, to $9.78 a bushel.
- See the latest farmer discussion on Friday's trade
- Read more: Market eyes world corn exporters
- Also in Marketing Talk: Buying 2013 acres
- Grain exports & a falling dollar
Analysts say Egypt, the world's largest wheat importer, could turn to the U.S. for supplies of the grain in coming weeks as supplies in the Black Sea region run low. Egypt has repeatedly bought wheat from Russia and Ukraine in recent weeks, but a drought reduced exportable supplies available this year in that region.
Some analysts think further Egyptian wheat tenders could include a purchase of U.S. wheat by the end of the month.
Optimism about greater export demand got a boost from the dollar weakening Friday due to the U.S. Federal Reserve's bond-buying program announced Thursday.
The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of actively traded rivals, was down 0.33% at 68.98 around the time grain markets closed Friday.
Egypt has paid rising prices for wheat in its most recent tenders, suggesting supplies may be declining in the Black Sea area and making U.S. supplies more competitive, said Shawn McCambridge, senior grains analyst with Jefferies Bache in Chicago.
But Mr. McCambridge also warned the market will need confirmation of its expectations to hold onto price gains. "We're going to have to see demand starting to be confirmed here, or else this current support will start to fade quickly," he said.
Wheat also rose as some market participants bought futures on the view that forecasts this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture didn't sufficiently account for tightening world supplies. "The problems that we've had with wheat haven't really been noted in the USDA report; some of the traders feel that way," said Dustin Johnson, a broker at EHedger in Illinois.
