Soft Commodities Price Watch: Wheat Rebounds from Multi-Month Lows

iNVEZZ.com, Friday, July 26th: The wheat price rose today, rebounding from a 13-month low, with data showing that last week’s US export sales surpassed analyst estimates. The corn price edged lower, poised for a drop this week. The soybean price was little changed and is also on track for a weekly loss. The rubber price was dragged down by the yen’s advance.

**Wheat Price Rebounds as Drop Lures Buyers**
Wheat futures for September settlement added one percent to trade at $6.5575 on the Chicago Board of Trade as of 05:55 EDT after closing at their lowest level since June 18, 2012 on Thursday. Despite today’s advance, futures are set for their second consecutive weekly drop. Milling wheat for November delivery rose 0.3 percent to trade at €189 a tonne on the NYSE Liffe exchange in Paris.

As Bloomberg has reported, yesterday the US Department of Agriculture said that US export sales of wheat amounted to 661,379 metric tonnes last week, surpassing analyst expectations of 350,000 to 600,000 tonnes. The EU issued export licences for 435,334 tonnes of soft wheat in the week through July 23, the most since April.
Bloomberg quoted Clement Gautier, wheat analyst at Horizon Soft Commodities, as saying by phone that the wheat market still had “tremendous bearish potential”.

“It has attracted buyers, but also woken up the sellers,” Gautier added.
**Corn, Soybean Set for Weekly Declines**
Corn futures for settlement in December were little changed, down 0.1 percent to trade at $4.785 a bushel in Chicago. The corn price remains on track for a 4.4 percent weekly decline. Yesterday, the contract slumped to a 33-month low of $4.7525.

The soybean price is also set for a weekly drop of nearly four percent, with futures for November delivery staying little changed at $12.2425 a bushel.
Bloomberg quoted Luke Matthews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, as saying in a report that the combination of slower US soybean and meal exports and excellent prospects for Northern Hemisphere oilseed production remained “the major bearish influences on oilseed prices”.

**Rubber Price Extends Slide as Yen Rises**
!m[Corn Price on Track for Weekly Drop](/uploads/story/4389/thumbs/pic1_inline.jpg)
Rubber for December delivery shed 2.2 percent to 250.2 yen a kilogramme on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange before trading at 252.1 yen as of 13:06 JST. Rubber futures declined with the yen rising for a second day against the greenback, boosted by expectations that the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would not announce a decision to scale back its bond purchases when it meets next week, and
by data pointing to the biggest jump in consumer prices in Japan since 2008.
“A strong yen cuts the appeal of rubber contracts,” noted Gu Jiong, an analyst at commodity broker Yutaka Shoji Co, as quoted by Bloomberg. “Investors also reduced positions ahead of a FOMC meeting and reports next week on US economic data.”