Wheat rises after Australia lowers 2009-2010 harvest forecast

Wheat futures rose in Chicago after Australia, the world’s fourth-largest exporter, lowered its crop estimate and as recent declines made the grain attractive to investors and importers. Soybeans and corn also rose. Wheat for March delivery jumped as much as 2 per cent to $4.96 a bushel in after-hours trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. It was at $4.945 a bushel at 2:44 pm in Singapore, trimming the grain’s loss this year to 8.7 per cent. The market was shut yesterday for the US Presidents’ Day holiday. Australia lowered its forecast for the 2009-2010 wheat crop by 1.5 per cent to 21.66 million metric tonnes, from 21.99 million tonnes in December, after a heat wave last year was followed by heavy rain, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics said today in an e-mailed report. Production in the previous season was 20.9 million tonnes, the bureau said. Wheat for May delivery, the contract with the biggest open interest, rallied as much as 1.9 per cent to $5.105 a bushel and last traded at $5.09. March-delivery corn, which can be used in place of wheat in making animal feeds, added as much as 0.9 per cent to $3.6475 a bushel, and last traded at $3.645 while soybeans for March delivery gained as much as 0.9 per cent to $9.53 a bushel, before trading at $9.52.