Wheat rises 0.6% on fresh export bids

Wheat prices rose by 0.57% to Rs 1,401 per quintal today as speculators enlarged positions amid reports that state-run firm PEC received bids for exports of 60,000 tonnes of grain from the government godowns.

At the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, wheat for delivery in September moved up by Rs 8, or 0.57%, to Rs 1,401 per quintal, with an open interest of 25,450 lots.

The October contract gained Rs 6, or 0.42%, to Rs 1,426 per quintal, with an open interest of 8,550 lots.

Marketmen attributed the rise in wheat futures prices to fresh positions created by speculators after reports that state-run trading firm PEC received 12 bids in the price range of USD 280-308 per tonne against its second tender for export of 60,000 tonnes of wheat from the government godowns.

Recently, the government had allowed public trading firms to export 2 million tonne wheat from the godowns of Food Corporation of India (FCI) to address storage issue. It had fixed a base price of $228 per tonne for wheat exports through multiple tenders.