Wheat futures have seen a dramatic turnaround this week, with prices in the US and Europe both rising on the back of some very poor recent performances.

Just last week, May 2017 soft red winter (SRW) wheat futures hit their lowest point of the year, settling at $147/t. This week, however, prices bounced back to $162/t – an almost two-month high.

A similar situation unfolded in Europe, with wheat futures recording a €5/t increase – an impressive performance considering there was one-less day of trading.

The rise in prices has come as a direct result of ‘appalling’ weather conditions in the US last week, which have led to fears of heavy crop losses. Early estimates suggest 2.7m tonnes of US wheat could be in trouble.

The current markets positioning and climatic challenges have lead experts to believe that grain prices will continue to rise.

Europe

With no trade on Monday due to the bank holiday weekend, wheat and maize futures prices on the Euronext exchange (MATIF) in Paris recorded mixed weekly performances by the close of trade on Friday.

May 2017 wheat reached its highest price in over a month, as weekly prices climbed €5/t to settle at €168/t.

Maize prices, however, settled at €172/t – a slight €1/t drop from the preceding week.

Chicago

There was Monday trade in Chicago this week, however, and futures prices for wheat and corn on the CME recorded strong performances on the back of some recent poor showings.

May 2017 soft red winter (SRW) wheat increased by a notable $15/t to settle at $162/t (€149/t) – its highest point in almost two months.

May 2017 corn prices also improved, climbing $4/t to settle at $145/t (€134/t) on Monday evening.

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