WHEAT: LIMIT UP
December 13th, 2007Via: AP:
Wheat prices surged the daily trading limit Wednesday on expectations that U.S. exports will continue at the high pace of recent months and deplete domestic supplies.
Energy futures, other agricultural products and gold also rose, boosted in part by the dollar’s weakness Wednesday.
With the world wheat market strapped for supply, U.S. exports of the grain have been running at a record pace — even with prices at highest level in 30 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday raised its estimate of wheat exports to 1.175 billion bushels, up from an earlier estimate of 1 billion bushels — but many analysts believe that estimate is far too low, given the current pace of sales.
By last week the U.S. had already exported 90 percent of the 1 billion bushels originally forecast to account for the entire marketing year, which runs through June 2008, according to DTN analyst Elaine Kub. The USDA reports weekly export sales on Thursday.
Wheat for March delivery jumped 30 cents — the daily price swing permitted by the Chicago Board of Trade — to settle at $9.405 a bushel. Wheat is just off the all-time record of $9.6175 a bushel in late September.
