US wheat revives after USDA report

By Joanna Levin

AFTER months of bad news, the US wheat market has reacted favourably to a key Government crop report released on 12 August. The Chicago September futures contract climbed to 259.25 cents/bushel after the market digested the news. However, the market still has a long way to go to reach Februarys peak of 370¢.

The US Department of Agriculture in its August Crop Production report has raised its wheat estimates by less than expected, alleviating worries about oversupply. The winter wheat crop is now estimated at 1.91 billion bushels, a 2% climb from 1997s crop.

The carryover stocks for the 1998-99 season are estimated by the Government at 819 million bushels, up from an estimated 723m bushels for the ’97-’98 season, but below some analysts forecasts.