Wheat surges

SINGAPORE: Chicago wheat futures rose for a second straight session on Thursday with short-covering by funds and concerns over excessive moisture in the U.S. grain growing areas underpinning the market.

Corn gained more ground while soybeans rose after closing largely unchanged in the previous session.

The Chicago Board of Trade most-active wheat contract rose 0.6 percent to $4.35 a bushel by 0332 GMT, having added 0.7 percent on Wednesday.

"I think the wheat market has bottomed out at around $4.30, funds are short on wheat and any short-covering will support prices," said Ole Houe, an analyst with brokerage IKON Commodities in Sydney.

"Buyers are thinking prices are not going to get any cheaper." Commodity funds were net buyers of CBOT corn and wheat futures contracts on Wednesday, traders said.

They were small net sellers of soybeans. Worrisome weather lent support, with excessive moisture in the U.S. Plains and Midwest raising concerns about yield prospects and grain quality for maturing winter wheat crop.

Wheat gains were checked though by a slight improvement in weekly winter wheat condition ratings.

Soybeans climbed 0.2 percent to $9.50-1/2 a bushel, after ending Wednesday little changed, and corn rose 0.4 percent to $3.72-3/4 a bushel, having gained 0.5 percent the day before.

The market awaits the USDA´s first 2017 condition ratings for corn, which the government expects to release in its next weekly crop progress report on May 30.