Wheat rises as low prices lure buyers

The price of wheat edged higher as buyers were lured by the grain's low price.

Wheat for delivery in May rose 3 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $7 a bushel on Monday. The grain has risen for three straight days since hitting $6.84, its lowest level in more than eight months.

Wheat is down 10 percent this year on expectations of bumper crops from India and Australia, both big wheat exporters. The price has also fallen as winter snowstorms have brought moisture to the Plains, improving the outlook for this year's crop following last year's severe drought.

"Wheat is just so cheap in comparison to everything else, it's just been beaten up the last number of months," said Darin Newsom, a senior analyst at DTN. "At these price levels we might be able to find some longer-term buying interest."

Corn and soybeans also rose Monday.

May corn rose 7.75 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $7.1125 a bushel. Soybeans for the same month gained $8.5 cents to $14.7950 a bushel.

Trading in metals futures was mixed.

Gold for April delivery rose $1.10, or 0.1 percent, to $1,578 an ounce. Copper for May delivery edged up 0.8 cent, or 0.2 percent, to $3.517 a pound.

May silver fell 9.5 cents, or 0.3 percent to $28.8530 an ounce. Palladium for June delivery dropped $3.55, or 0.5 percent, to $779.20 an ounce and April Platinum fell $2.70, or 0.2 percent, to $1,601.20 an ounce.

Oil reversed an early decline and finished above $92 per barrel for the first time this month.

Benchmark oil rose 11 cents to end at $92.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price was below $91 a barrel during morning trading.

Wholesale gasoline dropped 5.1 cents to $3.15 a gallon. Heating oil fell less than a cent to $2.97 a gallon. Natural gas rose 2 cents to $3.65 per 1,000 cubic feet.