Grain Futures Prices Surge on Weather-Related Supply Concerns

The prices of corn, soybean meal, and wheat futures have surged in recent weeks due to an unusual convergence of bullish fundamental factors and technical indicators. The December corn (ZCZ26) contract hit a three-year high at $5.36 1/2 on Friday, with the week's gain totaling 28 cents.

The soybean complex also saw significant gains, with November soybeans (ZSX26) reaching a two-and-a-half-year high of $12.88 and December soybean meal (ZMZ26) hitting a more-than-two-year high at $348.90.

The wheat market has been driven by concerns over grain supplies coming out of the Black Sea region, with consulting firm SovEcon reducing its estimate of Russian wheat exports in August to 1.9 million metric tons. This has led to increased demand for alternative origins, such as U.S. wheat.