SYDNEY, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Australian wheat production has avoided widespread production losses from recent unfavourable weather, traders and analysts said on Thursday.
U.S. wheat futures Wc1 hit a near one-month high on Wednesday amid concerns over global supplies being curtailed by recent unfavourable weather. But analysts and traders said Australia, the world's fourth largest exporter of wheat, has seen only minimal production losses.
"There has been some frost damage in Western Australia and Victoria but at this stage, we don't believe there is anything to be concerned about," said Graydon Chong, senior grains analyst at Rabobank.
Australian wheat production for the season ending July 1, 2016 was earlier this month pegged at 25.284 million tonnes, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences said, an increase of 7 percent from previous estimates as timely rains eased production concerns.
CBH Group, Australia's largest wheat exporter, told Reuters that damage is confined to only several sites and would not amount to significant production losses.
One Melbourne-based grains trader estimated the scope of the losses in Victoria, one the country's smaller grain producing states, at between 1-2 percent.
Although Australia has avoided any widespread losses, analysts said the nations wheat crop remains susceptible to frost-related production curbs, especially as an El Nino weather event intensifies.
While an El Nino typically brings warmer, drier conditions to Australia's east coast, the event is linked to reduced cloud cover, often promoting cooler night temperatures and increasing the risk of frost damage.