Commodities : Weather Fears Push Up Wheat Prices

Weather damage fears and expectations of new export business gave wheat futures prices their strongest boost in more than two weeks Tuesday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Other grain and soybean futures finished narrowly mixed ahead of an Agriculture Department supply-demand report that was issued after the close and interpreted as bullish by market analysts.

On other markets, gasoline futures surged while other oil futures were mixed, livestock and meat futures retreated, and precious metals were mixed.

Wheat settled 3 to 6.5 cents higher, with the contract for delivery in May at $4.01 a bushel; corn was 1 cent lower to 0.5 cent higher, with May at $2.655 a bushel; oats were 1.25 to 3.5 cents lower, with May at $1.8325 a bushel, and soybeans were 2.5 cents lower to 1.5 cents higher.

The gain in wheat prices was largely a reaction to Monday’s weekly USDA crop-weather report, which showed a net decline in the condition of the winter wheat crop for the week ending Sunday.

The USDA said winter wheat was “mostly fair” but noted deterioration of the crop due to unusually dry, cold weather.

Unleaded gasoline futures soared on the New York Mercantile Exchange following reports that a fire at Chevron USA’s second-largest West Coast refinery could shut down the refinery’s main unit for up to two months.

The American Petroleum Institute released its weekly petroleum stocks report after the close, showing a 4.7-million-barrel decline in U.S. gasoline stocks last week, which could lead to more buying Wednesday.