The following article is from Bloomberg:
Wheat Surges Most in Three Months on Signs Demand Will Rebound
By Whitney McFerron
Wheat futures jumped the most since December on speculation that demand will increase from speculators and commercial buyers after prices slumped yesterday to a five-month low.
U.S. exporters sold 858,822 metric tons in the week ended March 10, up 31 percent from a week earlier, Department of Agriculture data showed today. Tunisia agreed to buy 25,000 tons in a tender. Before today, the price tumbled 20 percent since March 4, partly because the earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan spurred concern that demand would decline.
“The selling has abated for the time being, and the market is getting a little chance to catch its breath,” said Dewey Strickler, the president of Ag Watch Market Advisers in Franklin, Kentucky. “We’re not seeing very many willing sellers. Those that had long positions on and were losing out are pretty much out of the market.”
Wheat futures for May delivery rose 39 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $7.01 a bushel at 10:12 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. A close at that price would be the biggest gain since Dec. 1. Yesterday, the price touched $6.56, the lowest for a most-active contract since Oct. 6.
The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter, and Japan is its biggest customer after Nigeria. Wheat was the fourth-biggest U.S. crop in 2010 at $13 billion, behind corn, soybeans and hay, government data show.
Source: Bloomberg
Posted by Haylie Shipp
