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Wheat rises as exports gain
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August 6, 1998: 5:23 p.m. ET
Signs of weaker North Dakota crop also lift prices; coffee percolates up
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wheat prices gained Thursday, due mainly to stronger-than-expected export data and signs of a weaker crop.
The Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures contract for delivery in December, the most-active month, rose 4-1/4 cents to $2.675 per bushel.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday in its weekly sales report that net wheat U.S. sales for the last week in July rose to 797,700 metric tons, a marketing-year high and 68 percent higher than the previous week.
"Wheat had real good export sales," said Victor Lespinasse, floor commentator for A.G. Edwards & Sons at the CBOT.
Meanwhile, prices also got support from reports that North Dakota spring wheat may come in below expectations.
Crop scouts who were part of a Wheat Quality Council tour of the state this week expressed disappointment with potential yields.
"There are a number of different things going on here," said one wheat analyst. "There was fund market going on right out of the box, and there hasn't been any of that in a while."
In addition, the analyst said, wheat shipments to customers in Latin America, Indonesia and the United States, among others, have begun to crop up recently.
"If you add up all the wheat sales that have gone on the past 10 to 12 days -- about 1.3 to 1.5 million tons -- and we haven't seen that kind of demand in weeks and weeks," the analyst said.
Coffee futures climb
While analysts said overall fundamentals remain bearish, coffee prices got a boost on Thursday amid continued rumors some stocks of Honduran coffee may get bought up by a fund.
CSCE arabica futures contracts for September delivery rose 1.50 cents to 132.50 cents a pound.
Also affecting the market Thursday, Brazil's coffee industry said it was experiencing supply problems as the country's growers held back some of their harvest at current prices. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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