Societe Generale gurus advised traders to take a long position in wheat futures and short position in copper futures, ditching a recommendation to stay long in gold.  The suggestion came even as copper hit a record $9,988.25 a tonne in London, spurred by expectations that global economic recovery will further boost demand for the metal.  In this SocGen went against Goldman Sachs who is bullish on copper, because SocGen does not believe that supplies were as tight as some investors appear to believe, with exchange warehouse stocks up by some 10% since late November.  Wheat, meanwhile, was "likely to trade higher near-term" as investors factored in a "significant" tightening in supplies.  "The most recent US export data show a large increase in non-US demand as importing countries are keen to stockpile on fears of shortages later this year," Societe Generale said.

Separately, Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrishnan also forecast wheat prices rises, thanks to tighter supplies, with wheat demand rising in India, Pakistan and Russia besides a recent jump in orders from Middle Eastern and North African nations.  "Fears that other countries may follow in Russia's footsteps by stepping up export bans have, in addition to the pick-up in prices, added to importer concerns," Ms Unnikrishnan.  "Amid these supply concerns, we expect prices to climb further in the near term, and spikes cannot be ruled out if countries slap on export bans or if importers pre-empt export restrictions by making large purchases

UkrAgroConsult