Wheat rises 2%, dollar atop 2018 peak

Wheat futures rose over 2% in American trade, as the dollar index scaled November 14 highs, following earlier data from the US, the world's second largest wheat exporter, while investors price in dry weather that could hinder global cultivation. 

As of 07:58 GMT, wheat futures due on July 15 rose 2.81% to $5.215 from the opening of $50.725, while the dollar index shed 0.08% to 93.60 from the opening of 93.68. 

Earlier US data showed durable goods orders fell 1.7% in April, compared to a 2.7% rise in March, and missing expectations of a 1.3% drop, while core orders accelerated to 0.9% from 0.1%, beating forecasts of 0.5%. 

University of Michigan's final reading for the consumer sentiment survey came at 98.8 in May, same as the preliminary and the April reading and in line with forecasts. 

US Wheat Sales 

The US Department of Agriculture reported wheat sales up 78% in the week ending May 17, and up 29% from the four-week average, with South Korea at the top of the buyers list at 75.2 thousand tonnes, then Guatemala at 22 thousand, and Ghana at 18.5 thousand, while Nigeria bought 13.7 thousand.  

The USDA reported new crop sales in the marketing year starting June at 340 thousand tonnes, with Taiwan accounting for 85.8 thousand tonnes, Japan at 55.4 thousand, and Iraq at 50.0 thousand. 

The USDA reported 341.3 thousand tonnes of inspected wheat product in the week ending last Sunday, compared to 467 thousand in the previous week, and 687 thousand in the same period of 2017.