CHICAGO (Dow Jones)-- U.S. wheat futures rallied Monday on concerns about supplies in the U.S. and globally.
Soft red winter wheat for March delivery at the Chicago Board of Trade ended up 12 3/4 cents, or 1.7%, at $7.69 1/2 per bushel.
Hard red winter wheat at the Kansas City Board of Trade was up 14 1/4 cents, or 1.8%, at $8.26, and hard red spring wheat at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange was up 17 1/2 cents at $8.59 1/2.
Traders were "adding weather premium" into the market to account for dry weather in the southern U.S. Plains that continues to fuel worry about the winter wheat crop, said Chad Henderson, analyst with Prime Ag Consultants.
The market was also supported, analysts said, by concern that the Russian government would extend its current export ban beyond July, when it was supposed to expire, due to delayed fertilizer shipments that could hurt the crop in 2011.
A severe Russian drought has sent the market sharply higher throughout the second half of 2010 and has helped lift other grains prices as well.
Worries about the quality of the crop in Australia, where the harvest was
delayed by very wet weather, were also supportive, analysts said.
Other commodities, including corn, also gained Monday. Funds bought an estimated 2,000 contracts at the Chicago Board of Trade.
The market is testing technical resistance just above the market, analysts said.
Rice futures
U.S. rice futures ended higher Monday amid widespread commodity gains and solid demand.
Recent export demand for U.S. rice has been solid, the U.S. Rice Producers Association said in a newsletter.
Longer-term, the prospect that farmers may plant fewer rice acres in 2011 because of its price relative to other commodities is also supportive, analysts said. Other markets, including wheat and corn, have soared through the last half of 2010, climbing much more than rice.
January Chicago Board of Trade rice ended up 5 1/2 cents, or 0.4%, at $13.75 per hundredweight.
