WHEAT REACHES RECORD, HEADS FOR BIGGEST MONTHLY GAIN SINCE 1973

September 1st, 2007

Via: Bloomberg:

Wheat futures in Chicago climbed to a record, heading for the biggest monthly gain in 34 years, as demand from importers including South Korea and India reduced global inventories.

Prices for the grain have doubled in the past year as adverse weather in Ukraine, Canada, Europe and Australia damaged crops. Global stockpiles will fall to the lowest in 26 years by May 31, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Buyers in Egypt, the world’s biggest importer after Brazil, and Taiwan have also sought the grain, used for animal feed and in foods such as bread, biscuits and noodles.

Wheat for December delivery rose as much as 23.25 cents, or 3 percent, to $8.0775 a bushel in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. It was at $8.0525 as of 7:10 a.m. local time. The commodity has gained 28 percent this month, the most since August 1973.

Wheat for November delivery on the Euronext.liffe exchange gained as much as 17.25 euros, or 6.8 percent, to 272 euros ($371.69) a ton in Paris, a record.

3 Responses to “WHEAT REACHES RECORD, HEADS FOR BIGGEST MONTHLY GAIN SINCE 1973”

  1. Harflimon says:

    And sadly the farmers probably won’t see an extra cent.

  2. pai mei says:

    Drought in Europe, “no problem we have money we will import”. What if one day every country will want to import ? People will realize they cannot eat money

  3. sharon says:

    When I first got serious about gardening, I used to tell people that my food self-sufficienty strategy would be to grow lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.

    I planned to buy grains and dry beans: oats, wheat berries, rice, flour corn, pinto beans, limas, whole soybeans, lentils, chickpeas, black beans, and split peas.

    It made sense: Grains and dry beans were so cheap, it would be counterproductive to use valuable garden space to plant them. Why choose to plant wheat or field corn, if it meant displacing asparagus ($4/lb. around here)?

    Looks like I’m going to have to re-think that one. I believe I’ll set aside a little room for planting hard red winter wheat–partly just to learn how to grow it. Heck–I think I can plant it in the fall. (I’ll have to check.)

    Next spring, I think I’d be wise to plant plenty of Oaxacan Green Corn, a nice patch of soybeans (not just the edamame kind), and some pinto beans and limas for drying.

    Growing and preserving these crops successfully is not a skill I expect to master in one season. I hope I’m not behindhand in making a start.

    Things will only get worse, folks.

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