SINGAPORE- Wheat supply concerns helped Chicago futures bounce back on Wednesday from the last session’s deep losses driven by fears about a new COVID-19 variant and its impact on the global economy.
Soybeans rose after five sessions of decline while corn gained for the first time in three days.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade added 0.8 percent to $7.93-1/2 a bushel, after closing down 4.2 percent on Tuesday.
Soybeans were up 0.7 percent at $12.26-1/4 a bushel, after hitting a Nov. 11 low of $12.14 a bushel in the last session. Corn gained 0.7 percent at $5.71-1/4 a bushel, having closed 2.3 percent lower in the previous session.
Wheat markets rallied to nine-year highs in November in Chicago as the possibility of more Russian export restrictions and the risk of rain damage to Australia’s crop fanned fears of tight milling wheat supplies.
Asian stocks rose from a one-year low on Wednesday as US share futures and oil recovered from the previous day’s selloff, but uncertainty over the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant kept investors on edge.
Commodity funds were net sellers of CBOT wheat, corn, soybean and soyoil futures contracts on Tuesday, traders said. Funds were estimated to be net even in soymeal futures.
Chicago-traded grains and oilseeds have been on a seasonally unusual rally amid tight global supplies and inflation fears, and although speculators’ corn views have hit an all-time high for the date, the wheat optimism is more muted.
In the week ended Nov. 23, money managers increased their net long position in CBOT corn futures and options to 366,691 contracts from 341,135 a week prior. That marked their most optimistic view since early May and resulted mostly from new longs being added.
That is according to data published Monday afternoon by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which was delayed from its usual Friday release due to the Thanksgiving holiday. – Reuters
