Wheat jumped to a record in Asian trading after the state of South Australia said output of the grain may be 24 percent less than earlier forecast, increasing competition for shrinking global supplies.
Export sales of wheat from the U.S., the largest shipper of the commodity, have almost doubled in the year that started June 1. Egypt, the biggest importer of wheat after Brazil, as well as Iraq, India, Korea and Taiwan bought the grain this week as they secured supplies on concern prices may extend gains.
``We're seeing some panic set into the market now,'' Tony Smith, senior commodity trader with Plum Grove Commodity Trading Solutions, said from Perth. ``These higher prices don't seem to be rationing demand from buyers at this stage.''
Wheat prices more than doubled in the past year, increasing costs for users such as Premier Foods Plc, the U.K.'s biggest maker of cakes, and Nissan Food Products of Japan. Rising prices of agricultural commodities including wheat, milk and soybeans have helped stoke global inflation....
From Bloomberg
