Wheat advances amid negative weather forecasts

Wheat marks a fourth day of gains as excessive rains in Midwest U.S. delayed planting of the spring crop and drought in Kansas and Texas caused winter yields decline.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, wheat futures for July delivery traded at $7,1063 at 8:13 GMT, up 0,14% on the day.

According to USDA’s report on Monday, 73% of the winter wheat crop was planted as of the week ending June 2, compared to 60% in the preceding week, which shows a stable advance. However, this is still lower than the 80% five-year average and the 88% planted during the same week last year. Winter wheat condition is also worse than last year. The USDA reported 42% of the crop falls in the “very poor” and “poor” categories, 31% is “good” and “excellent” and 25 has a “fair” quality. Last year 18% was categorized as “very poor” and “poor”, 30% as “fair” and 52% was “good” and “excellent”.

Further delay in spring planting is expected as more thunderstorms are forecast in North Plains, according to a DTN report. Drought in western parts of the southern plains will cause winter-wheat yields decline.

Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), wrote in a report: “Lingering crop concerns in the U.S. continue to provide underlying support to U.S. wheat prices.”

Elsewhere on the market, corn and soybeans mark gains for the session. Corn futures for July delivery stood at $6.6250 a bushel at 8:24 GMT, up 0.32% on the day. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s report this week, around 91% of the corn crop in the world’s largest grower has been planted, up from 86% last week. The USDA said on May 10 that the U.S. will harvest a record 359.2 million tons this year.

Soybean futures for July delivery traded at $15,2988 at 8:24 GMT, marking a 0,11% gain for the day. The USDA reported in its weekly crop progress report that 57% of the nation’s crop was planted as of June 2. This is 13% higher than last week, but still significantly below the five-year average of 74%. As of June 2 2012, 93% of the soybeans crop was planted.