CANBERRA: Chicago wheat futures on Friday climbed to their highest since October 2024 as cold weather in the Black Sea region fed fears of crop damage and triggered a burst of short covering by speculators who had been betting on lower prices.

Corn and soy futures held close to multi-month highs thanks to dry conditions in Argentina, a major exporter, and relief that U.S. tariffs have not sparked full-blown trade conflicts impacting crop shipments.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was up 0.5% at $5.90-1/2 a bushel at 0140 GMT, rising 5% this week.

* CBOT corn added 0.1% to $4.95-3/4 a bushel, gaining 1.8% for the week, with soybeans up 0.1% at $10.61-3/4 bushel to advance 2.8% from last Friday's close.

* On Wednesday, corn touched $4.98-1/2, the highest since October 2023, and soybeans climbed to $10.79-3/4, the highest since July 2024.

* Weak demand and plentiful cheap Black Sea shipments were pressuring wheat despite expectations of tightening supply.

* But colder weather is projected next week for Russia and Ukraine, whose wheat crops are seen as vulnerable to frost after a mild winter so far.

* Meanwhile, shipments from the Black Sea are expected to slow in the coming months as Russia brings in a restrictive export quota.

* Traders are awaiting the monthly supply-demand report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) next Tuesday that could move prices.

 

MARKETS NEWS

* U.S. stocks were mixed at the end of a choppy session on Thursday as investors digested a spate of earnings. Waning concerns over widening tariff conflicts capped gold's string of record highs. (Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Sumana Nandy)