CANBERRA, – Chicago wheat futures rose on Monday, supported by higher oil prices after U.S.-Iran talks collapsed and fears of a potential U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which heightened concerns over global fuel and fertiliser supplies.
Corn and soybean futures also climbed.
FUNDAMENTALS The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade Wv1 had gained 1.8% to $5.81 a bushel by 0042 GMT, while CBOT corn Cv1added 1% to $4.45-1/4 a bushel and soybeans Sv1 rose 0.5% to $11.82 a bushel. Soybeans were trading at their highest levels since mid-March, while wheat and corn have fallen in recent weeks on expectations of ample supply, reinforced last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly supply and demand report. Oil prices jumped about 8% to above $100 a barrel on Monday as the U.S. Navy prepared a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that could restrict Iranian oil shipments. Marathon talks over the weekend failed to secure a deal to end the war, imperilling a fragile two-week ceasefire. High fuel and fertiliser prices have raised the possibility that farmers worldwide will plant less wheat, which requires heavier fertiliser use than some other crops.
Last month, the USDA estimated that U.S. farmers were set to plant the fewest acres of wheat for harvest this year since the agency began keeping records in 1919. Swathes of the U.S. wheat belt are also suffering drought conditions. The U.S. winter wheat crop was rated 35% good-to-excellent as of Sunday, a three-year low for that time of year.
Stocks were set to fall and the dollar strengthened on Monday as the failure of U.S.-Iran talks left a fragile ceasefire hanging in the balance and no end to a choke on Mideast energy exports.
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