Rocketing wheat and corn prices aren’t just benefiting futures-based agriculture exchange traded funds (ETFs). Agriculture commodity producers are reaping the benefits, too.
Agriculture prices are rising, and analysts say that the fundamentals for more gains are in place. Dan Weeks for Bloomberg reports that corn traded at a nearly 14-month high this week and prices climbed last week for the fifth time in six weeks. [ETFs For An Ag Revival.]
Wheat prices may also be primed for more spikes: the U.S. Department of Agriculture slashed its forecast for global wheat production in 2010-2011. Production has been hampered by severe drought in Russia, which caused the country to ban exports of the crop. As one of the world’s largest producers of the commodity, the price impact has been evident. [Wheat rally My Not Be Whole.]
For more stories about agriculture, visit our agriculture ETF page. There are a number of ETFs available to play agriculture, from broad commodity ETFs to funds that hold only agricultural commodities backed by futures.
The benefit of rising prices has been apparent in Market Vectors Global Agribusiness (NYSEArca: MOO), which is up 19.4% in the last three months. MOO owns stock in agriculture producers. PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSEArca: DBA) has also done well, gaining 14.6% in the last three months. DBA holds 12.5% corn futures and 13.5% wheat futures. Visit the ETF Resume for either ETF to get more information on performance, holdings and charts.
For full disclosure, Tom Lydon’s clients own MOO.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.