Wheat rose for the first time in five sessions, erasing earlier losses, after Japan said it would import U.S. supplies following an eight-week hiatus.

 

Japan today said it wants to buy 100,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat on Nov. 13 for shipment in January. The Asian country hasn't bought U.S. wheat since mid-September, when it suspended overseas grain purchases amid a scandal involving tainted rice sold to domestic food companies. Wheat is down 28 percent in the past two months.

 

``For so many weeks they put out tenders and nothing happened,'' said Louise Gartner, owner of Spectrum Commodities in Beavercreek, Ohio. ``But, if they're saying they're going to buy, that's supportive.''

 

Wheat futures for December delivery rose 3.25 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $5.2325 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, after falling as much as 2.8 percent. The price has tumbled 61 percent from a record $13.495 on Feb. 27, dropping 9.2 percent in the previous four sessions.

 

Japan suspended imports of wheat, rice and barley on Sept. 19 after distributors sold a shipment of tainted rice, bought strictly for use in industrial products, to foodmakers and restaurants.

 

On Oct. 9, the Japanese government resumed tenders to buy foreign grain after measures were taken to ensure tainted supplies would not be used in food, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. Still, Japan canceled plans to buy U.S. inventories five times in the past month.

 

``They've made some changes and U.S. wheat isn't qualifying for some reason,'' Gartner said. ``But where else is Japan going to go? Japan pretty much imports all their grain. I would think that if they were saying they're going to make a purchase, then that's bullish.''

 

Wheat is the fourth-biggest U.S. crop, valued at $13.7 billion in 2007, behind corn, soybeans and hay, government data show.