Wheat & Corn hit new highs
Wheat has moved to $8.60 a bushel off the back of corn trading around $8 a bushel, exceeding the record $7.9925 set in June 2008.
Corn rose 16 percent and wheat 13 percent since the U.S. Department of Agriculture said March 31 that corn stockpiles fell to a four-year low in March. Higher grains costs are adding pressure to food costs which are contributing factors to protests across the Middle East and North Africa and the unrest in those countries.
Corn for May delivery gained 0.9 percent to $7.6675 a bushel on the CBOT at yesterday’s close. Wheat for July delivery dropped 0.5 percent to $8.2275 a bushel. Feed will account for 18 percent of global wheat use in the marketing year through May 31 compared with 59 percent of corn consumption, according to the USDA.
Wheat for May delivery cost 23.5 cents more than the May corn contract on the CBOT, the lowest premium since May 2000. There is the possibility that wheat could cost less than corn in the coming months. This has not occured since June 1984. Wheat has traded $1.45 higher than corn over the last decade on average.
