Corn and soybean prices weakened but wheat prices rose Thursday as storms brought moisture to the U.S. Corn Belt but left the wheat-growing region in the northern Plains hot and dry.
In other commodities markets, oil prices extended their rise, while industrial and precious metals made broad gains.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn for December delivery shed 5.75 cents to $3.3675 a bushel and September soybeans dipped 3.5 cents to $8.73 a bushel.
"What we're watching today is clearly the rain event, tracking the thunderstorms that landed right on the traders' heads last night in the northern (Chicago) suburbs," said Thomas C. Willis Sr., senior adviser at Mesirow Financial LLC in Chicago.
But wheat prices climbed 13 cents to $6.365 a bushel at midday on the CBOT, as the storm system sidestepped the northern Plains, leaving the region dry. Pressures have mounted on the spring wheat crop of the Dakotas and Montana after the harvest in the southern Plains suffered substantial damage from weeks of heavy rains.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices trekked further into $75-a-barrel territory, while gasoline futures fluctuated between slight gains and losses. Traders continued to digest a petroleum inventories report issued Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration, which showed a surprise draw on gasoline stocks but rising refinery utilization.
The statistics on refined products "were particularly bullish, underscoring the U.S. refining industry's inability not only to rebuild stocks but even to keep up with robust demand," said Fimat Energy Research analyst Antoine Halff, in a report.
Crude prices also drew support from news that France's Total SA cut back output from an Angolan oil field.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery added 8 cents to $75.13 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex August gasoline futures dipped 2.53 cents to $2.17 a gallon.
September Brent crude edged up 2 cents to $76.78 a barrel on ICE Futures in London.
Elsewhere in London, the base metals market shrugged off rising inventories held by the London Metal Exchange of nickel, copper and tin as prices rose across the board. Traders again focused on strikes at copper mines in Latin America, resulting in broad gains.
Workers Southern Copper (nyse: PCU - news - people ) Corp.'s Cuajone and Toquepala mines in Peru will decide this week whether to stage another walkout after union leaders and management failed to agree on issues such as wages, according to Dow Jones Newswires. Workers went on strike in June then returned to work to let talks resume.
Dow also reported that operations at Codelco's El Salvador division remain on hold while workers strike. Meanwhile, bad weather has curbed production at the Chilean copper giant's Andina division.
Copper prices edged up nearly 2 percent on the LME. Nickel rose more than 2 percent, while tin jumped nearly 4 percent.
Nymex copper for September delivery rose 6.7 cents to $3.63 a pound at midday.
source:forbes.com
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