CHICAGO, June 21 (Reuters) - U.S. corn, soybean and wheat futures rose to multi-month highs on Wednesday, supported by concerns about crop shortfalls around the globe due to adverse weather in key production areas.
"Listening to the meteorologists this morning, they pretty much threw in the towel on any moisture for the dry areas of the Midwest for the next two weeks," Marex Capital analyst Charlie Sernatinger said in a note to clients.
Chicago Board of Trade December corn futures, which track the crop being grown in fields across the United States, were up 31-1/4 cents a bushel at $6.28-3/4. The contract hit its highest since Nov. 1 during the session.
CBOT November soybeans were 34-1/4 cents higher at $13.77 a bushel after rising to $13.78, the highest peak for the new-crop contract since March 8.
"Given the situation around the Corn Belt it now seems highly unlikely that the USDA's yield estimate will be achievable," Summit Commodity Brokerage said in a research note. "If we stay dry, it will be hard for this market to do anything but work higher."
CBOT September soft red winter wheat futures gained 39-1/2 cents to $7.48-1/4 a bushel. The most-active wheat contract hit its highest on a continuous basis since Feb. 24.
The U.S. Agriculture Department cut its good-to-excellent ratings for the U.S. corn and soybean crops by more than expected on Tuesday afternoon, including steep drops in top-producing states Iowa and Illinois.
Concern is also mounting about crops elsewhere, including Europe.
The European Union's crop monitoring service MARS on Monday reduced nearly all its average yield forecasts for this year's grain and oilseed crops in the bloc, citing adverse weather conditions. (Additional reporting by Matthew Chye in Singapore and Sybille de La Hamaide in Paris; Editing by Mark Potter, Richard Chang and Jonathan Oatis)
