CBOT wheat rallies on drought, geopolitical tensions; corn follows
Strength in wheat market gives corn futures a boost
Corn also supported by lower production in Ukraine, Russia
Soybean futures move either side of unchanged on technical trading
New throughout with latest prices; adds bullet headlines, quotes, byline; changes datelined, previous CANBERRA/PARIS
By P.J. Huffstutter
CHICAGO, Oct 1 (Reuters) -Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures rallied on Tuesday, amid concern about weather woes, on crop conditions and geopolitical tensions in both the Black Sea and the Middle East, market analysts said.
Grain futures turned higher on potential global supply issues after the Israeli military said on Tuesday that missiles had been launched from Iran at Israel, and NATO's new chief Mark Rutte voiced strong support for Ukraine.
Corn futures gained support from wheat, while soybeans traded both sides of unchanged on technical moves, analysts said.
The most active CBOT wheat contract Wv1 was up 2.91% at $6.01 a bushel by 1714 GMT, after earlier climbing to $6.02-1/2 a bushel, its highest since June 17.
CBOT corn Cv1 was up 1.65% at $4.31-3/4 a bushel. Earlier, it touched $4.32-1/2 a bushel, the highest price since June 28. And CBOT soybeans Sv1 were up 0.71% at $10.64-1/2 a bushel.
In addition to the geopolitical tensions, wheat futures gained support from news that wheat export prices in Russia rose last week even as the pace of shipments picked up, said Angie Setzer, partner at Consus Ag Consulting.
"You're also seeing signs of the Ukraine crop being smaller than people were anticipating, and the EU wheat crop is struggling with quality," Setzer said. "The same stories that are supporting wheat are also supporting corn moving forward."
Corn continued to hover at three-month-plus highs on continued short covering, after the U.S. government's estimate of U.S. corn stockpiles fell short of trade expectations on Monday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday said U.S. farmers and grain merchants are sitting on the highest stocks of grains and soybeans left over from previous harvests in four years as they start gathering what are expected to be two of the largest soybean and corn crops on record.
In a separate report Monday, the USDA said the U.S. corn harvest - set to be the second biggest in history - was 21% complete, slightly less advanced than analysts expected.
Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter; additional reporting by Peter Hobson and Sybille de La Hamaide; editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Varun H K, David Goodman and Jonathan Oatis
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