Bonds Rebound, Nat Gas Slides: Market Bits

(Published at 1:17 pm ET)

Wheat prices were retreating after visiting positive territory Friday as the markets' attention turned away from news that La Nina is threatening to endanger crop yields and back to a bearish stock report.

Wheat for May delivery was falling 1.9% to $7.48 ¾ a bushel, coming off the intraday high of $7.74, as the markets revisited a slightly bearish U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) report from Thursday.

Earlier, on Friday morning, wheat was advancing more than 1% as meteorologists warned that leading wheat producers including China and the U.S. would be suffering more drought with the looming La Nina. This, of course, would cause wheat yields to suffer.

The La Nina weather phenomenon refers to the cooling of surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

Still, as noon approached, the markets began revisiting the USDA report that said wheat inventory rose 5% from a year ago to 1.42 billion bushels on March 1.

"We are also seeing some pre-weekend profit taking and selling on wheat to cover margin exposure in corn," said MaxYield Cooperative Grain Solutions Team Leader Karl Setzer.

Soybeans followed suit, falling 1.2% to $13.93 ¾ a bushel for May delivery on news China has cancelled a few export bookings, the analyst said.

Food companies were rising in midday trading.

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