Benchmark wheat prices rose above $8 U.S. a bushel for the first time since 2012 as bad weather and soaring fertilizer prices impact the commodity.
The rising price of wheat is likely to push food costs worldwide higher. Futures tied to other types of wheat also surged amid increasing demand and dwindling reserves due to poor weather conditions.
Some farmers in western Canada are contending with dry soil, as well as a run up in fertilizer prices. Wheat is now on its longest streak of monthly gains since 2007.
The latest United Nations figures show that food prices are at a decade-high amid harvest setbacks and supply-chain disruptions.
Paris milling wheat futures at one point reached an all-time high and Minneapolis spring wheat touched the priciest level since April 2008. Hard red winter wheat rose 2.6% to close at $8.065 U.S. a bushel, the highest settlement since May 2014.
Saudi Arabia’s state buyer booked 1.3 million tons of wheat in a tender this past weekend, almost double the amount expected. Plus, top importer Egypt bought 180,000 tons of Russian wheat less than a week after its largest purchase of the season.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said winter-wheat conditions declined slightly last week, missing the average analyst estimate calling for a three-percentage-point improvement.
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