Wheat Advances on Concerns of Severe Weather Conditions
Wheat increased on Monday over concerns that severe weather conditions will hurt the crops.
Wheat futures for May delivery increased by 3.8 percent, or 40.75 cents, to $11.2675 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Wheat prices more than doubled in the previous year on concerns that farmers won't produce enough to meet global demand.
According to the International Grains Council, global wheat production was forecasted to increase by 7 percent to 646 million tons in the year ending June 30, 2009.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said world wheat inventories will fall to 109.7 million metric tons in the year ending May 31, and stock piles may fall to 272 million bushels, or 7.4 million metric tons.
According to data from USDA, between June 1 and Feb. 21, advance wheat sales of U.S. supplies increased by 55 percent compared to 2007, and the actual shipments increased by 53 percent.
Wheat gains were also boosted by an increase in demand for alternative investments after the dollar declined.
Other commodities including crude oil, gasoline, gold, corn and soybeans posted the highest gain after the dollar posted declines against euro, yen, pound and other major currencies.
Wheat was the fourth-biggest U.S. crop in 2007, valued at $13.7 billion after corn, soybeans and hay.
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