U.S. wheat futures climbed to eight-year highs on Friday and European wheat futures extended gains, led by fresh contract highs in Paris, after steep cuts to world supply in a U.S. government report fuelled concern about dwindling availability in major export zones, analysts said.
Soybean futures rose on fears of tightening global vegetable oil supplies, but corn futures turned mixed, paring gains after early advances.
As of 1:02 p.m. CDT (1802 GMT), Chicago Board of Trade September wheat was up 15-1/4 cents at $7.68-3/4 per bushel, after reaching $7.74-3/4, the highest price on a continuous chart of the most-active wheat contract since February 2013.
CBOT November soybeans were up 23 cents at $13.64 a bushel, while benchmark December soyoil was up 1.69 cents, or 2.7%, at 63.27 cents per pound. December corn was up 1/4 cent at $5.73-1/2 a bushel.
Wheat extended advances a day after the U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed its forecast of global 2021-22 wheat production and ending stocks, citing poor weather in Russia, Canada and the United States.
'Explosive' Global Supply
Adverse weather has also cut crop prospects in the European Union, contributing to a potentially "explosive" global supply outlook for the cereals, analyst firm Strategie Grains said on Thursday.
"There are a lot of worries about the French wheat harvest maybe pushing back barley shipments and wheat shipments, so we've got Paris wheat probably leading the U.S. markets higher," said Terry Reilly, senior analyst with Futures International in Chicago.
Soybean futures drew support from a pick-up in U.S. soybean export sales as well as rising prices for vegetable oils including Malaysian palm oil and Canadian canola. The USDA on Thursday cut its estimate of Canada's canola crop to 16 million tonnes, down 4.2 million from its previous estimate.
"People are starting to think that maybe the U.S. won't get as many canola oil imports as expected ... The global vegetable oil market dictates that things might get a little tighter going forward," Reilly said.
CBOT corn pared gains and dipped lower at times on profit-taking at week's end. The market was underpinned by supply worries after the USDA on Thursday cut its estimate of U.S. corn production more than most analysts expected.
Traders were digesting acreage data released late Thursday by the USDA's Farm Service Agency that suggested, some analysts said, that USDA might eventually need to raise its official estimate of U.S. corn plantings.
News by Reuters edited by Donna Ahern Checkout. For more supply chain stories click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
