The country's amber waves of grain were blown to and fro in a wild day of trading Wednesday at the Chicago Board of Trade. Prices for wheat futures swung between record single-day gains and declines.
"You don't ever want to trade wheat again. That's your reaction to it," said Roy Huckabay, executive vice president of the Chicago-based Linn Group, a research firm. "You've never seen markets like this."
A global wheat shortage is the storm behind the current mania. Poor weather in 2006 hurt yields in the U.S. and abroad, and now the impact of that shortage is rippling through foreign-trade policies, futures markets and grocery store aisles.
Spaghetti noodles made with wheat, for example, cost 18 percent more than a year ago and whole-wheat bread is 12 percent more expensive, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By contrast, total consumer inflation during the past 12 months was 4.3 percent.
Domestic wheat stocks are at their lowest level in 60 years, the Agriculture Department said last week. Global supplies have sunk to a 30-year low.
At the same time, growing income levels worldwide have increased demand for wheat. And the weak U.S. dollar makes American wheat more attractive to foreign buyers.
As a consequence, prices soared on futures exchanges.